In the Eyes of a Child
by Kazie Solo
Summary: *FINALLY COMPLETE!* Regression. The retreat of a person to childish tendencies. Uh-oh, what has Videl gotten herself into? What trouble will she cause, not only to herself, but to her friends as well? Most of all, how far will Gohan go to save her?
1. Prologue

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Prologue_

The day was perfect. The breeze was cool and relaxing, the sky was blue and clear; the world seemed very peaceful for once. Maybe it was also because Erasa had her mouth shut for nearly an hour now, Sharpner wasn't busy flirting with the woman who was once his _dream girl_, and Videl was comfortably snuggled against Gohan's chest.

Of course, Sharpner still liked Videl, but because she and Gohan had been together for quite sometime already --- although the couple kept denying what was obvious --- Sharpner decided to ignore her and look for someone else. It didn't takehim long enough to find her, though. She was just around the corner, plainly unnoticed because he had his eyes on Videl all the time. But that was before.

And of course, the tranquility didn't last long. Erasa finally woke up from her _beauty rest_ and her mouth was, once again, on the run. "Hey, Sharpner! Where are we? How far have we gone? Are we anywhere near the cabin yet?"

"Erasa, relax," he replied as he slowed down the car so it would be safe for him to turn sideways to look at her. "We're going to be there in around half an hour. So, chill."

Erasa turned to look at the couple behind her and began squealing excitedly. "Heard that, you two? We're going to get there pretty soon!"

"Mmm..." Videl mumbled in her sleep, which was most probably an affirmative.

The demi-saiyajin just smiled. "Yeah," he said, but a split-second later a loud rumble was heard in the air.

"What was that?!" Erasa asked, looking around uneasily. She then rested her eyes on Sharpner, who was trying to hold his laughter, but to no avail. "Hey guys, what's going on?! What was that?!"

"Gohan's... stomach..." came Videl's drowsy reply.

The other girl slumped back into her seat in relief. "Well... that's good to hear! But you have to admit, _that_ was scary!"

"Not when you're used to it!" Sharpner blurted out with a short chuckle. 

"When do we eat?"

Sharpner did not stop his laugh at that. "Gohan, Gohan... We're half an hour away from our destination. Didn't you bring anything to eat for the meantime?"

His black eyes darted guiltily to the pile of junk food bags --- pile of _empty_ junk food bags --- just beside him. "Umm... I kinda ate everything up already."

"Oh well... you'll have to wait," Sharpner replied with a sly grin. "Damn, my feet hurt, I can't go any faster than 20," he continued to joke as he slowed down the car speed to an 18 KPH. 

Gohan didn't get the joke, however. "Can I drive?" he asked innocently, and when the couple started laughing, he said instead, "Can I just lift the car and fly it to where we're going, then?"

"No fun," his girlfriend commented as she shifted into another position, stretched her arms and half-yawned. "For once, Gohan, travel in a car for heaven's sake. Road trips are fun, you know."

"But I'm hungry," he continued to whine. "And nothing's fun when your stomach is empty."

Another sly grin formed on Sharpner's face. "Well, let's make things a little more exciting," he blurted out excitedly as he forcefully stepped on the accelerator and sent the car zooming on the road. It didn't cause much of a shock --- until he spun the wheel and the car took a sudden turn to the right.

"SHARPNER!!" the girls exclaimed as they recovered.

"This is what makes road trips fun," he answered as he took another sudden swerve that sent the girls screaming. As more of his antics came up, Erasa grew paler and paler, and as for Videl, she was practically clinging on Gohan on all fours.

"You're going to get us killed!" Erasa shrieked after Sharpner did another quick swerve.

"Erasa's right, you should be more careful!" Videl added.

He had a mock look of hurt on his face. "Aw, c'mon guys, this isn't so bad, is it?" he asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Why, are you chicken?"

"NO, WE'RE NOT!" they chorused in reply.

"So what's the matter? Let's keep things going!" he exclaimed, but Gohan's reflection on the rear view mirror was a threatening one.

"Cut it out, Sharpner," Gohan warned with a slight glare as he held Videl tight in his arms. However, that totally set the _excitement_ _bomb_ off Sharpner and he stepped it up even more.

"SHARPNER!!"

"I'm just heating things up a bit!" he mumbled as he gripped the steering wheel, the smirk on his face reaching up to his ears. "Everyone, prepare for the Sharpner special!"

The car took a very sharp left turn that sent his passengers screaming, yelling at him to stop. When he finished his turn, he spun around to address the couple, "How'd ya like that, Videl? I hope you clung to Gohan---"

"SHARPNER!! WATCH IT!!" Erasa once again shrieked, and when he focused back on the road he knew the time had come to pay the price of their _fun_.

A truck was coming straight towards them.

He hit the brakes and turned the wheel as hard as he could to keep them from crashing into the zooming truck. But because of that sudden, extremely forceful maneuver, it was next to impossible to prevent the car from flipping over.

And it did.

Before the darkness took him, Sharpner told himself that he should have stopped when Gohan told him to...


	2. The New Kid on the Block

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter One - The New Kid on the Block_

Gohan's head was still throbbing as he walked towards the Satan Mansion. It had been almost two weeks since the accident they got themselves in, all because of Sharpner's stupidity and insane idea of fun. He sighed heavily, putting a hand on his forehead, as if trying to steady himself. He had insisted to pay Videl a visit since nobody had news of her since she was taken home by her father from the hospital.

When he arrived in front of the mansion, he could hear a few frantic screams and constant clattering of metals. His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to listen to the sounds that came from the mansion. Heavy footsteps, falling objects and breaking porcelain.

Gohan grew very curious so he immediately rang the doorbell.

Nobody came to get the door.

He was surprised when that happened, for usually the maids in the mansion were very alert in terms of accepting visitors.

He rang the doorbell again.

And that's when a bruised young lady opened the gate, a sheepish smile on the face. "Yes?"

"Uh... what happened?" Gohan could not help asking.

"A little accident in the mansion," the lady replied. "Um... you're here to see Videl? She's..." she stopped to look back at the mansion. "... asleep."

Gohan blinked, then he smiled. "Just tell her that... I came."

"Sure thing," the lady told him.

He thought it was strange, since Videl was usually up early, but he turned around to leave, not wanting to disturb her. 

When the gate closed, he heard a scream.

"WHY DID YOU TELL HIM THAT?!" a loud female voice shot in the air, though it seemed... younger. He spun around, his features depicting heavy confusion, when the scream was countered by a thundering male voice that could only belong to Mr. Satan.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING OUT, AND YOU ARE NOT MEETING ANYONE!"

"BUT I WANNA SEE GOHAN-KUUUUUUUUUN!!" the girl whined. "DADDDDDDYYYYY! I WANNA SEE GOHAN-KUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!"

"YOU STAY IN THE HOUSE!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" the girl continued to whine. "I'M GONNA GO WITH GOHAN-KUN AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!"

Mr. Satan's voice was louder than ever. "FINE! GO WITH THAT GOHAN! I DON'T CARE! GO WITH HIM! TAKE YOUR BAGS, GO!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!" her triumphant cheer thundered.

Gohan blinked.

The gate opened, and a raven-haired girl rushed out carrying a bag on each hand. The instant she saw Gohan, her expression brightened, and she ran towards him. "GOHAN-KUUUUUUUUUN!!!!" Videl yelled, then tackled him to the ground. "DADDY TOLD ME I COULD STAY WITH YOU! CAN I STAY WITH YOU, HUH, GOHAN-KUN? CAN I, PUUUUUH-LEASE?"

He blinked.

"Are you mad at me, Gohan-kun?" 

"N-no, of c-course not," Gohan replied quickly, but he was still dumbfolded at the sight of the girl in front of him. 

"So can I stay with you? Puh-lease?"

"I-I guess..."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!" Videl screamed as she jumped up and down. "I'M GONNA BE WITH GOHAN-KUN! I'M GONNA BE WITH GOHAN-KUN!" she chanted.

"Poor child," Chichi whispered. "And her father's still very harsh towards her. Oh Gohan, you should take care of her! I want you to be by her side every single minute, and do not let her be gone from your sight for even a second!"

Gohan looked at his mother, resenting. "Mom, what if I go to the bathroom? I can't watch over her, I--- Okay, okay," he said quickly as he saw Chichi lift her ultimate weapon. The frying pan.

"That's better," Chichi said as she put the frying pan away, and then she sighed. "I should call Bulma and ask her if she can create a medicine or something for Videl," she told Gohan, but when she went to the living room to make a call, Goten and Videl were having a game of tug-of-war, the telephone stuck in between.

"I'm gonna call Trunks!" Goten blurted out.

"No, I'm gonna call Trunks!" Videl snapped.

"I'M GONNA CALL TRUNKS!"

"NO, I'M GONNA CALL TRUNKS!"

"YOU'RE NOT GONNA CALL TRUNKS COZ I AM!"

"YEAH, WHO TOLD YOU?!"

They glared at each other for a few moments, until Goten tugged with all of his might and he managed to yank the telephone into his hands. He then punched the all-too-familiar number and once it was picked up in the other end, he instantly started chattering. "TRUUUUUUNKS!!! Can you come over?" he paused, and then his excitement appeared as he tried to interrupt the other. "Oh oh oh do you know who's here?! VIDEL!"

Videl grabbed the phone and exclaimed, "HIYA TRUNKS!" Then her smile widened. "I'm here for the summer! Are you gonna come over, huh, are you?"

The demi-saiyajin put his ear close to the telephone, and when they heard Trunks yell of, "MY MOM'S LETTING ME!" they broke into a little victory dance until they stumbled on each other and they fell to the floor.

To keep his thoughts away from his girlfriend-turned-kid, Gohan started reading a very thick dictionary, trying to memorize every word, but to no avail. Videl's screams of, "GIMME GIMME GIMME!" and "MINE MINE MINE!" blew away his focus. 

He couldn't help but feel angry towards Sharpner, the cause of their problems. If he didn't let his exciment hormone take over him, they wouldn't have been in an accident. And if they hadn't been in an accident, Videl would have been perfectly sane. 

He resumed reading when a loud noise of interrupted him once again, followed by Chichi's furious yell.

"GOTEN! TRUNKS! GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Goten and Trunks came running to the front porch, where Chichi and Bulma were waiting. And they both didn't look too happy.

"What was that riot you just made?!" Bulma asked, glaring at her son. "I allowed you to come here, but even with me around you still manage to make such a riot! Didn't you put into your head the things I told you before?!"

"But mom---"

"You too, Goten! I kept telling you over and over to be careful when you're playing with Trunks! But look what you've done!" Chichi exclaimed with much anger. She then walked over to a little patch of land, her garden, and turned back to the two boys. "You tell me what you did to my pretty flowers or else I won't give you food for dinner!"

"Mom---"

"I don't want any lies!" Chichi snapped.

"And don't go turning around in circles, go straight to the point!" Bulma added with the same intensity.

"AND NO MORE BUTS!" the two mothers chorused.

"But mom---" Trunks and Goten blurted out together.

Chichi and Bulma stopped to glare at them.

"We did it!" Goten finally admitted, but then he looked at Trunks, as if asking for assistance.

"But it wasn't our idea," Trunks added, getting his best friend's message.

"THEN WHOSE IDEA WAS IT?!?" Chichi asked, bewildered and furious at the same time, ready to cry for what has happened to her garden. It used to be a very pretty one, with all sorts of stunning flowers of various species. But now, it was nothing but a patch of dry soil, the flowers uprooted and foot marks all over the ground.

The two demi-saiyajins looked at each other, Goten relaying an unheard message. Shortly after, Trunks nodded. Then, they both took a deep breath.

"It was Videl's idea."


	3. Tantrum Trouble

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Two - Tantrum Trouble_

Their eyes and mouths were wide open in shock and disbelief at what the two boys just said. However, it was Bulma who recovered first. "Did you just say... that it was Videl's idea?"

Goten and Trunks nodded earnestly.

Finally, Chichi managed to recover, and she told the boys that she would not believe it unless she would hear it from Videl herself. She quickly turned around and called out, "Videl, dear, can you please come over here for a while?"

The raven-haired girl bounced out of the Son house, carrying in her hands...

_Flowers..?_

"Hai, Chichi-san?" she began in her usual tone recently, her sing-song voice that drives Trunks nuts. And just as it always had, Trunks started screaming and running around, yelling, "NOOOO! That voice, not that voice!!!!"

Videl looked at Trunks in a blank way, then returned to look at Chichi. "Hai, Chichi-san?" she repeated, and Trunks came running around all over again. Finally, Videl realized how to do it properly, so she yelled in her sing-song tone, "HAI, CHICHI-SAN?" and burst into laughter as Trunks went berserk on her little endeavor. 

"Trunks, what's wrong?" Goten finally noticed what his best friend was doing, however, Trunks didn't hear him, for he was busy covering his ears and running away from Videl. Goten didn't like the idea of Trunks not listening to him, so using his sing-song voice, he asked, "Trunks, what's wrong?"

The lavender-haired saiyajin started crying.

His mother rushed to comfort him in an instant, and when all eyes fell on Videl, she whispered in a guilty tone, "I was just asking what Chichi-san wanted..."

"Where did you get those flowers?" Chichi asked, her tone immediately sharp.

Videl replied, "I asked Goten and Trunks to get them for me."

The older woman's eyes widened in shock. "So YOU were really the one behind this!" she exclaimed pointing to her ruined garden.

Videl looked at the garden, then back to the flowers she was holding, and started crying. "I didn't tell Goten and Trunks to get the flowers in the garden... I just told them that I want pretty flowers like the ones in the garden because I wanna make something for Gohan-kun because he's really nice and I just want to give him something as a thank you gift. But I didn't know they took the flowers in the garden!" she explained and burst into tears.

"Now, now," Chichi muttered rushing to her, the older woman's eyes darting to Gohan's room to make sure that the demi-saiyajin didn't hear his girlfriend crying. "It's alright, dear. I understand. Don't worry about it."

"I'll just help you fix your garden," the other answered softly. Videl looked at the flowers in her hands, then hesitantly, she walked towards the garden and placed the flowers on the ground. She scooped up some of the soil and tried to make the flowers stand once again. "Grow well, pretty flowers," she whispered to the flowers and forced a smile.

Chichi looked at her and smiled. "Dear, you don't have to do that. Those flowers are yours now. Make them into what you were planning to give Gohan. Just help me grow the new ones, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good," she said ruffling Videl's hair. "Now, as for you two," she muttered looking at Goten and Trunks.

Trunks spoke up, "She said she wanted flowers like the ones in the garden, and we were too tired to go somewhere, so we got them! We're sorry!"

"WE'RE SORRY!" the boys chorused.

"Well, I think that apology could be accepted, right, Chichi?" Bulma asked, wanting to end the commotion. 

Chichi sighed, then nodded. "Well, I guess it could... Alright, apology accepted. Boys, just be careful next time. Okay?"

"Hai," Goten and Trunks chorused.

"Now, Bulma, as I was saying..." Chichi continued to rant as she led Trunks' mother back into the house.

Gohan felt himself blush as he resumed his reading session. He heard the commotion below --- every word of it --- and could not help thinking that Videl had become sweeter as time passed. Maybe because she lost her prideful ways when she felt the happy days of being a child, or something like that.

He was interrupted --- again --- when he heard another commotion from outside their house.

"Don't you two use that sing-song voice on me again!" Trunks snapped angrily.

Goten and Videl looked at each other, and laughed.

"Why, what's wrong with this voice, Trunks?" Goten asked, using, once again, his sing-song voice.

Videl did the same. "Yeah, Trunks, what's wrong? I can even sing if you want!"

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Trunks hollered. "NOT THE SING-SONG VOICE!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"Hey, can you two please get me some string---"

"NO!" Goten and Trunks replied in an instant. 

"We don't wanna get in trouble again," Trunks said. "Not when my mom and Goten's mom is on your side, just because you're Gohan's girlfriend and you're generally UNSTABLE!"

Videl looked very hurt, and tears were coming to her eyes. "I am NOT! And you two aren't gentlemen, you never do girls a favor! All you think of is yourselves!"

That did it for the two demi-saiyajins.

"WE'RE NOT SELFISH! WE JUST DON'T WANT TO GET IN TROUBLE BECAUSE OF YOU!" Trunks shot angrily, then he transformed in his super saiyajin form. Goten followed shortly thenafter.

Videl gasped.

"At the count of three, attack her, okay?" Trunks whispered.

"But Trunks... Nii-chan is gonna kill us!" Goten replied

"We'll have to kill him first when that time comes!" Trunks said, then counted. "One, two, three!"

The two demi-saiyajins charged.

However, Videl was holding their heads in an instant.

Goten and Trunks paled. 

"How did she..." Trunks began, but he trailed off as Videl started touching and examining their hair, as if she hasn't seen them turn SSJ before.

"Oooooooh coooooool! Your hair... YOU'RE BLONDE!" Videl exclaimed, then she put the two saiyajins down. "How did you do that?! I've always wanted to be blonde!! You look soooo cool! You two are awesome!!"

Goten and Trunks exchanged blank looks.

"Wow, you two are the greatest! Can everyone in your family do that?"

"No," Trunks replied.

"Hey Goten, can Gohan do that too? Can he turn his hair blonde?"

"Ummm... yeah," Goten answered.

"COOOOOOOOL!!!!!! You should teach me! How do you do that?!"

Trunks tried to interrupt her glee in the appropriate manner. "Uhh... Videl... you're not a sai---" he was stopped when Videl marched in front of the door of the Son house and exclaimed in her sing-song voice, "Chichi-san! Goten and Trunks have blonde hair, and they look soooo cooool!!!"

Goten and Trunks paled even more.

The raven-haired woman emerged from the house with her weapon in hand. "GOTEN! TRUNKS! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU, NO SUPER SAIYAJINS IN THE HOUSE!!!"

"But we're not in the house!" Goten tried to explain when Chichi flung a powerful spanking stroke, the two barely able to get out of range in time.

"GET BACK HERE!!" Chichi screamed, but Goten and Trunks flew off in fear of the mighty Chichi and her trusty frying pan.

Chichi was still fuming when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

It was Videl.

"Chichi-san, what's wrong with their blonde hair?" she asked innocently.

And that was her mistake.

Chichi started yelling her lungs out at her, ranting about how dangerous and monstrous super saiyajins are.

And _that_, was Chichi's mistake.

The teenaged girl turned kid was greatly shocked and emotionally hurt by Chichi's outburst, although it wasn't directed to her or anyone in particular. But Videl just didn't like to be yelled at, and she didn't enjoy being yelled at just because she asked a question.

"I DO NOT ALLOW SUPER SAIYAJINS IN THE HOUSE BECAUSE THEY ONLY BRING TROUBLE AND I ALSO DON'T WANT---" Chichi abruptly stopped as she stared at the girl infront of her.

Videl's lower lip began to tremble.

Chichi's eyes widened in shock, and she dropped her frying pan on the ground. "Videl, dear... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I... I was just..."

But it was no use.

Videl was already at the verge of crying.

"Dear... I'm really sorry... I... I just lost control... My apologies, Videl dear... no..."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Videl screamed, unleashing her emotions. She then burst into tears and ran into the house.


	4. Kiddy Games, Stupid Pets and Kidnapped G...

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Three - Kiddy Games, Stupid Pets and Kidnapped Girls_

He was on his feet in no time. Her scream just penetrated into his mind, and he was determined to be there for her, no matter how small the matter really was. He saw her huddled at a corner, in tears. Chichi just yelled at her and she was very upset. At first, Gohan didn't know what to do. Sure, he had seen Videl cry before... but he was dealing with another Videl now. He was now dealing with a side of Videl he hasn't seen, a part of Videl that was hidden underneath her headstrong facade.

He stood in front of her, still not knowing what to do. 

Then, he sighed, knelt down, and hugged her. "It's alright, Videl. Mom was just upset, you know how naughty Goten and Trunks are. It's alright, don't cry."

"I was just asking a question Gohan-kun," she replied, still sobbing. "And she just yelled at me."

"Now, now, Videl, she didn't mean to yell at you. So don't take it seriously," Gohan said, attempting to calm her down, but it didn't work. Finally, he settled for something that worked wonders on Goten. He just hoped he'll attain the same end with Videl. He held her by the shoulders, and looked straight into her eyes. Then he smiled. "Wanna play? I'm sure mom wouldn't mind if I spend a few minutes away from my books! So what do you say?"

And it sure did it.

Her blue eyes were sparkling with excitement and delight that very moment. "Really, Gohan-kun?! You're gonna PLAY with me?"

"Sure, why not?" he replied. "What do you wanna play?"

She examined the ceiling for a moment, thinking, then she answered, "Tag!"

"Okay," Gohan said, then he helped her up. "Let's go outside and play!"

She quietly followed him outside, and then she shyly called out, "Gohan-kun...?"

"Hai, Videl-chan?" he replied involuntarily, and he was sorta taken aback because he called her Videl-chan. She didn't notice it anyway.

"I... I tried to make something for you," she began to explain. "But Goten and Trunks were so mean and they didn't get me any string... so... here," Videl quickly said as she handed him the bunch of flowers she was holding, and smiled. "I hope you like them."

Gohan grinned as he took his gift. "Ummm... thanks, Videl. I like them very much."

"You do?" Videl asked, brightening.

"Ummm... yeah, I do," he answered, then quickly changed the topic. "So, let's play rock-paper-scissors to determine who'll run and who'll have to do the catching. Okay?"

The girl nodded.

"ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!" they both hollered.

Gohan's was a rock.

Videl's finger was pointing on Gohan's fist.

"Uhh... Videl... what's that?" he asked, confused.

"A bullet! Bullets can go through rocks, right?"

Gohan nodded. "Well... yeah, they could, but..."

"So I win! I'll run, you catch me!" Videl exclaimed as she stuck her tongue out at Gohan, then sprinted away.

It took Gohan a second to realize what was going on. When he finally did, he burst into laughter, then he hurried to catch her. Of course, it didn't take him too long to do so. Then it was Videl's turn. However, because of Gohan's natural speed, she had trouble catching him. "Gohan-kun, slow down!" she called out.

Gohan grinned. "No way! You're it, you have to catch me!"

"GOHAN-KUUUUUUUN!! NO FAIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRR!!" she whined.

"Okay, okay, I'll slow down. But only because you asked me to, Videl-chan," he said as he slowed down a bit for Videl to be able to catch him.

And she did. She suddenly tackled him to the ground, and smiled at him triumphantly. "I caught you! Your turn!" she exclaimed, then she stood up and ran away. Gohan stood up and stayed in his position for about 15 seconds, and afterwards, that was when he started going after Videl. "You can't catch me, I'm too fast for you!" he heard Videl chant at a distance. 

"We'll see about that, Videl-chan," Gohan told himself as he made a dash for it. He flew up to the sky, then made a sharp landing, reappearing precisely in front of Videl.

She was moving too fast that she was unable to stop, and she ended up bumping into Gohan.

"You're it," Gohan whispered.

She looked up and their eyes met. 

And much to Gohan's surprise, her arms were around his neck a few moments after. As if on cue, he followed her lead. He wrapped his arms around her, and lowered his head...

She screamed, then she latched onto him on all fours.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!! GOHAN-KUUUN!!! THERE'S A... A..."

Gohan glared at Goten's pet, a medium-sized lizard, named Squirt. "Go away, Squirt," he ordered, and the lizard began scurrying away.

_Great, that lizard ruined it..._

"Oh yeah, I'm it!" Videl exclaimed as Gohan lowered her back to the ground. "Run, Gohan-kun! Or I'm gonna catch you in an instant!"

Gohan was still glaring at the scurrying lizard when Videl once again told him to run and hurry before she'd start running after him. He just grinned when he snapped back into reality. "Oh, yeah, I'll... run now," he said as he sprinted away. _Damn... that would have done the trick! That would have brought Videl back into her right mind! I saw the look in her eyes, I saw the old Videl! The Videl I was with before the accident! But that stupid lizard... the next time I see him, I'm going to step on him!_

He felt a sudden presence behind him, and he leapt into the air.

Videl fell, face flat on the ground.

When Gohan realized what just happened, he went back down and helped her up. "I... I'm sorry, Videl... I thought... someone was trying to... uhhh...."

"GOHAN-KUN YOU CHEATER!" Videl whined. "YOU'RE SOOO UNFAIR!!"

"I-I'm really s-sorry, Videl, I----"

She punched him.

And to Gohan's surprise, her punches were still powerful, for she threw a successive one at the demi-saiyajin in her anger. "You're so unfair, just because you're stronger and more powerful than me!! You're sooooo bad!!! You won't give me a chance!! You're just like Goten and Trunks, you don't care about women, YOU'RE SOOOO SELFISH!!"

"Videl, don't kill me!" Gohan exclaimed as he ran for his life.

Videl was hot on his tail. "CHEATER! CHEATER! CHEATER!" she bellowed from behind him, and then she leapt forward to get him. 

She missed, and scratched her knee instead.

Gohan stopped and rushed over to her to check if she was alright, but she just glared at him. Then, she clamped her hand into a fist and attempted to hit Gohan.

The demi-saiyajin dodged it.

"COOOL!" she suddenly exclaimed, the excitement in her eyes apparent. "Gohan-kun, let's play fight instead! Come on! PLEASE?"

"You're not... mad at me anymore?"

Videl shook her head. "No, but if you won't play with me, then I will!"

"Okay, okay," he said, then he put up a mock fighting stance. "Ladies first."

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGEEEEEEEEE!!!" Videl bellowed as she ran towards him, but in a flash, she disappeared.

And then her leg hit Gohan's back, sending the young man on his knees.

Gohan winced, then turned to Videl. "Videl-chan, that hurt!"

"Serves you right," she sneered, but he made an abrupt move that Videl was unable to notice. He was holding her wrists now, and he was forcing them behind her back.

"OW OW OW OW OW!!!" Videl shrieked. "Gohan-kun, that hurt!"

"Serves you right," Gohan joked in reply, then he let go and ran off, leaving Videl who was smirking mischievously.

"I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THAT!!" she yelled, then she started to go after him. He was moving fast, and she chased him from one hill to another, from one meadow to another.

But suddenly, Gohan had a strange feeling that she was going to catch him.

And indeed, she got him. 

They were soon rolling down the hill's steep slope, and when they reached a stop, she was on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"You won't get away this time," she warned as she pushed her face closed to his.

Gohan just smirked up at her, his dark yet inviting eyes attaching to her gleaming blue ones. He was seemingly searching for something beyond that pair of sky blue eyes he was looking out. Then, his smile widened. "I thought you wanted to play, Videl-chan?" Gohan asked. "Pinning me to the ground is hardly fair. Let's see if we can turn the tables a bit."

And with that, he brought his head up a little, and brushed his lips against hers.

Then in one swift movement, he rolled them over, and he got up, still smirking. "How about if we try to play something more... interesting?"

"How about hide and seek?" Videl asked as she sat up, her fingers daintily touching her lips. Her lips that Gohan just touched with his. 

Gohan smiled. "Well, whatever you wish, Videl-chan. So, who'll hide?"

"I will, I will, I will!" Videl exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I'll hide, Gohan-kun!"

He nodded. "Okay," he said, then he turned around and covered his eyes. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"

She was gone, but he could feel her presence. She wasn't too far, just a couple of meters away. Gohan moved slowly towards the tree where Videl was hiding, and he smiled. He quickly moved to grab her, but then he heard another voice.

"NII-CHAN!! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!!"

He blinked. "Goten? What are you doing here?!"

"Hiding from mom," his little brother answered. "Tattle-tale Videl told her that we transformed and Trunks and I almost got hit with the frying pan. How about you, what are you doing here?"

"Videl and I were playing hide and seek... but it's strange, I can't feel her ki."

Goten shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't have ki," he replied.

"You're kidding," Gohan said, then he sighed. "But that's not the only thing that's strange. How in the world could she suppress her ki? She doesn't know how to that, I mean, completely supress her ki?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Goten blurted out, then he hovered in the air. "Well, I promised Trunks that I'll go to his place, so I'll go now. Good luck in finding her, Nii-chan!"

As Goten flew off, Gohan sighed and continued looking for the girl. 

An hour passed, he still couldn't find her.

Gohan began to panic. He didn't know where she was, and he couldn't even sense her. Not knowing what to do, he ran home. "Mom!" he called out as he arrived. "Have you seen Videl?"

Chichi yelled from the kitchen, "I THOUGHT SHE WAS WITH YOU?"

He paled even more. 

If Videl wasn't in the house, then where could she be?

He slumped on the couch and shut his eyes, not knowing what to do. They were playing hide and seek when Videl suddenly disappeared without a trace. He felt Videl's power level earlier, but it was Goten who was behind the tree, not Videl. _Strange. Very strange._

His eyes opened as Goku entered the house, an extra-large fish in his hand. His father gave him a smile, but when Gohan did not react, Goku immediately knew that something was wrong. 

"Hey, Chichi, I've got the fish!" Goku exclaimed, then he turned to Gohan. "Son? What's wrong?"

Gohan looked worried beyond belief. "Videl... she disappeared."

"Nani?!" Goku asked, surprised.

"Yes, and I can't even sense her," the other replied, then he narrated what happened before Videl's disappearance.

The phone rang.

"Hello?" Goku answered, as he was the one closest to the telephone. "Hold on," he said, then handed the receiver to Gohan.

"Who is it?"

Goku shrugged. "I don't know."

Gohan took the phone anyway, then asked, "Yes? This is Gohan."

Silence enveloped the Son house.

Then, Gohan paled.

"Gohan, what's wrong?" Goku asked, looking worriedly at his son.

The younger warrior could not find the voice to speak.

When he finally did, he whispered, "They have Videl."


	5. The Hunt Begins

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Four - The Hunt Begins_

Gohan put down the phone and buried his head into his hands. "It's all my fault! If I had been more careful---"

"Gohan, who was it?"

"I don't know, dad," he answered. "Just some people who told me that they have Videl, and that they won't give her back unless I go to their hideout and fight them."

Goku smiled. "Then that's no problem! A fight is something you can always handle!"

"But," his son said, "They said it's going to be more like a treasure hunt. They're going to drop me clues, and they have to find their hideout AND defeat them before sundown tomorrow. If I don't, then they'll do something bad to her."

"You don't have to worry, you're smart enough for that," Goku blurted out as Chichi emerged from the kitchen.

"What was that phone call all about, Gohan? And what about that thing with Videl?"

Gohan knew that Chichi must not know, and so he immediately answered, "Um... her father wanted me to bring her back home, so I will! Take care mom, see you later!" 

And with that, Gohan took off.

Chichi turned to look at Goku. "What was that all about?"

"I dunno," the saiyajin shrugged in response. "But I'm hungry."

"I don't understand how all this happened," Gohan told himself. "How those people managed to kidnap Videl without me noticing, and how they're all dragging me into this stupid game of theirs! I must be dreaming. This can't be real. First, we got into an accident. No, Sharpner got a car. THEN we got into an accident. Afterwards we land in the hospital and when we're finally out of trouble, Videl's brain gets tweaked up and now she's acting like a kid. And Mr. Satan threw her out of their house too. THEN she almost got herself in trouble with mom, and she got in trouble with Goten and Trunks----"

He blinked.

"Goten and Trunks... no, it can't be. Why would they kidnap her in the first place? I know Trunks could get really mean sometimes, but I don't think they'll go as far as kidnap her! But then again... they managed to kidnap Videl without me noticing... and when I went to check if she was hiding behind the tree, I found Goten---"

He stopped in his tracks and he clamped his fist in fury.

"Trunks... this is all Trunks' doing! I'm going to get that kid for this... If I can get past Vegeta," he ended with a sigh. He sighed --- again --- and then decided to fly to Capsule Corporation to check on Trunks and Goten. However, just as soon as he turned towards Capsule Corporation's direction, he saw the two chibis flying towards him. 

Just his luck.

"Gohan!" Trunks called out. "Gohan!"

"Oniichan!"

The older demi-saiyajin folded his arms in front of his chest, his eyes narrowing significantly. "Trunks, Goten, be honest," he began as the kids stopped in front of him. "Did you kidnap Videl?"

"Why would we?!" Trunks snapped defensively, and then, he stopped and blinked. "W-What? Videl-san got... kidnapped?!"

"Oh no!" Goten exclaimed, slapping a hand on his forehead in a very dramatic manner. "My brother's girlfriend got kidnapped! This is SOOOO horrible! Who would do such a thing?!"

Gohan gritted his teeth, and then yelled, "YOU TWO COULD DO SUCH A THING!"

It was a wrong move for Gohan.

Trunks and Gohan both looked at Goten almost immediately, and saw that the other saiyajins' lower lip began to tremble noticeably. 

"Great, you did it, Gohan," Goten's best friend muttered with gritted teeth.

And the seven-year-old burst into tears.

"Oniichan accused me of kidnapping Videl! He's sooooo baaaaaaaad! I can't do that to Videl-saaaaaaan! I want her to be my sister! I want her to marry Gohaaaaaaaaaan! But he's saying that I kidnapped her! He's sooooooo baaaaaaaaaad!"

Gohan began to panic. "Goten, keep your voice down, Mom's gonna hear you!"

"I don't care if Mom's gonna hear meeeeeeee! I want her to know that you're baaaaaaaaad! You're baaaaaaaaad Oniichaaaaaaaaan!" Goten continued to say between sobs.

"Okay, okay, I take that back! I take that back, Goten, now don't cry!"

Goten looked at his brother. "Really?"

The older Son nodded.

"Okaaaaaay! Now, why don't we look for her instead?" Goten asked, receiving a thumbs-up from Trunks, and a "That's a great idea, Goten!"

Gohan sighed. "Well we should just go home... after all, the hunting game the kidnappers set for me won't be until tomorrow..."

"Hunting game?!"

"The kidnappers called," Gohan began to explain. "Their gonna have me do something for them, participate in a hunting game of sorts. I have to track down their hideout with the clues they're gonna give me, then defeat whoever I'm supposed to defeat when I get there before sundown so I can rescue Videl. Although I'm not really worried of the fighting, but I'm worried of the tracking down part. Who knows what those people could think of?"

The kids shrugged, but Trunks decided to add his comment. "Well, I think they're very smart," he said with a smug grin.

"Yeah, I think so too," Goten blurted out with a smirk.

"WHAT?!?" Chichi yelled as she stood up and slammed her fists on the table. "Videl... GOT KIDNAPPED?!"

Gohan shot a glare on Goten's direction, but the youngest saiyajin just kept on eating, avoiding his brother's gaze. The more it made Gohan mad, for Goten did not only tell Chichi that Videl got kidnapped, he also told Chichi that she was kidnapped while they were playing with Gohan. "Mom, I didn't notice that she was already kidnapped! We were just playing, and next thing I knew, she was gone!"

Chichi took IT and waved it around threateningly. "Son Gohan, you either save her from those kidnappers, or I'll throw you out of the house! I want grandchildren and you can't give me that without Videl!"

"I want Videl to be my sister tooooooooo," Goten joined in, only to receive another glare from Gohan, whose face was now bright red. 

The phone rang.

Gohan jumped out of his seat and grabbed the phone. "Hello?!" he asked, then he looked disappointed. "Yes, Bulma-san, hold on." He looked at his mom and she nodded curtly.

"Lighten up, son," Goku advised as soon as Gohan sat back down. "Take it easy. We'll get her back. Somehow."

The sky was blue and the sun was already high in the sky, but Gohan was still asleep. He was so exhausted with worry that he didn't wake up early, as he had originally planned. Chichi didn't know about the hunting game Gohan was going to participate in, so she didn't wake up her son, because she too, felt sorry for him. Goku, on the other hand, was still wrestling with his sheets, having a nightmare about Buu eating all the food Chichi prepared for breakfast; while Goten already left to hang out with Trunks.

The phone rang.

Once. 

Twice.

"Hello?" Chichi asked as she answered. "Gohan? He's still asleep. May I know who's calling, please?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Look, I am most certainly not in the mood for jokes or pranks! Either you tell me who you are or I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN WITH MY FRYING PAN!!" To Chichi's surprise, the person on the other end of the line actually seemed taken aback by her comment. It was as if the caller was actually dreading IT! 

However, a loud, gruff voice replaced the first, and growled, "Give the phone to Gohan or you're going to get hurt!"

Chichi almost dropped the phone, shocked by how... fearsome... the caller sounded. Trembling, she walked over to Gohan's room, and said, "G-Gohan... You h-have a p-phone c-call."

"PHONE CALL?!" her son asked in panic, then rushed to their living room to take the call. "HELLO?! What have you done with Videl?! Give her back!!"

"We did not touch her, do not worry. She is properly cared for. I called to give you the first clue. But before that, allow me to tell you the mechanics of the game."

Gohan was silently fuming, his other hand clamped into a fist, as he continued to listen.

"You can only bring one companion with you. You are not allowed to use ki as well, except during the battle. Do you understand? No ki. And no flying either."

"THAT'S RIDICULOUS!" Gohan snapped. "I WILL DO WHAT I MUST!"

The person at the other end of the line chuckled. "We'll see about that. Now, here's first clue. Listen carefully."

Gohan held his breath, wondering what the clue was, but instead, he only heard noises. First, he heard the sound of the breeze, the breeze from a high place, like a mountaintop. Then, he heard other auxiliary noises. The area was apparently very far and very desolate, and there was also... a slight rippling of water. Afterwards, he heard footsteps. Soft footsteps, but he could tell that they only belonged to one person, and that there was only one person in that current area. He also heard... tapping. Tapping made by some sort of staff.

"Well, that's it. Don't take too much of your time, though. That's still not our hiding place. When you get to that area, another clue will be waiting for you. So, you might as well start pondering, and go there as soon as you can. You only have until sundown."

And he hung up.

Gohan could only stare at the phone, and then, he ran his thoughts, analyzing all the sounds he heard. Wind, water, footsteps and tapping. Area with only one person living in it, high up in some place.

Silence.

Then he smiled.

"That's it!" he exclaimed. Everything then made sense. All the sounds pointed to one area. One place that Gohan and his father had been to before. And now that he figured out where they were supposed to go next, he did not waste any time. He ran towards his father's room in order to wake him up, for Gohan knew that there would be no better companion in this dangerous journey of his than his father, Son Goku.

Gohan would risk his life and limb because he loved Videl. He had always loved her, and he'll always will.


	6. Rules Were Made to be Obeyed

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Five - Rules Were Made to be Obeyed_

Gohan was losing his edge as he desperately tried to wake Goku up. The older saiyajin would merely turn around, and then he'd continue sleeping. "Dad! Please, wake up!"

"Buu... give that back," Goku muttered as he grabbed one of his pillows and started chewing the edge.

"Dad! You have to come with me! Please!" he begged as he yanked the pillow out of Goku's mouth. However, Goku sat up and attempted to grab the pillow from Gohan but to no avail. "DAAAAAAAD!!!!"

Goku managed to get a hold of the pillow and started to tug it free from his son's grip, as he continued to mumble, "Buu, give me back my chicken! Buu! Give that back! That's my chicken!"

"Dad! I'm not Buu! It's me, Gohan, and you've got to wake up!"

"My chicken!!" Goku yelled as he pulled. His force was so strong and sudden, however, that Gohan lost his grip and he went flying out of the window.

"Mmmm..." the older Son whispered as he hugged his pillow tight. Despite the loud crash Gohan made, he slept on. 

"What are you going to do with me? And Gohan-kun?!" Videl asked as she tried to break free from the ki-rings that pinned her to the wall. "Let me go!"

"We're going to play," a voice replied, though it was deep yet Videl could tell that it belonged to a kid. However, the word _play_ made Videl brighten noticeably.

"Really?! We're going to play?! COOOOOL! Am I part of it?!" she squealed excitedly. "Please? Please let me join your game! Pleeeeeeeeeeease?"

"SHUT HER UP!" a loud voice snapped from the darkness. "MAKE THAT BRAT SHUT UP OR I'M GOING TO KILL YOU THREE RIGHT NOW!"

Chichi ran out of the house to check on what just happened, gripping IT for security purposes. As she saw Gohan sprawled on the ground, she gasped. "Gohan! What just happened? You didn't... fall out the window, did you?!"

"Dad... threw me..." Gohan replied, as he was still quite dizzy.

"Goku?! But how? What happened? You tell me right now or---"

Gohan cringed at the sight of IT. "I was trying to wake him up, but he was dreaming about Buu trying to steal his food. He was chewing his pillow and I grabbed it from him. And we had a little session of tug-of-war, but he caught me off-guard. He yanked the pillow towards him and I flew out of the window. That's pretty much it." And then, he fell on his knees, his eyes begging. "Mom, you HAVE to wake dad up! I only have until sundown to rescue Videl, and I need someone to go with me!"

"Sundown?!" Chichi gasped. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" she snapped as she ran back in the house, and up to her room with Goku. 

Gohan covered his ears and winced as he heard a few deafening yells of _Get up! Up! Up!_ shortly followed by a sound of metal hitting a rock, and then, a painful scream. Seconds later, Goku and Chichi emerged from the house. IT had a large dent in it, while Goku was rubbing the extra-large lump on his head. 

"Thanks, mom," Gohan said sheepishly.

"Anytime," she answered, and then, her eyes narrowed. "Now go! You have to rescue Videl at any cost! If you have to, then DIE TRYING!"

"But Chichi," Goku began in his own version of whining. "I'm starving!"

All it took Chichi was to wave IT in front of her husband's face, and dragging Gohan along, Goku went running away from her in no time. 

"Trunks, it's my turn!" Goten whined as he tugged Trunks' sleeve. "TRUUUUUUUUUUNKS!!! MY TUUUUUUURN!!"

The lavender-haired son of Vegeta did not move from his spot.

"Trunks! Come on! It's my turn already! Gimme that one!"

"Goten, be quiet," Trunks scolded. "I'm trying to check things out here!"

The spiky-haired demi-saiyajin pouted. "You've been checking things for hours already!"

Trunks did not reply. He continued to look for something using his binoculars, until he found it. "I found it, Goten! There they are!"

"Where? Where?" Goten exclaimed as he took the binoculars from Trunks and looked into it. "I can't see anything, Trunks! Well I can, but it's foggy and all..."

"Baka!" Trunks snapped. "You're holding it the wrong way!"

The other saiyajin pulled the binoculars away from his face and looked at Trunks. "How am I supposed to hold this, then?"  
"This way," the other replied as he turned the binoculars the other way around, for Goten was not looking through the eyepiece earlier, but through the lens. 

Goten smiled sheepishly. "Well mom never buys me these things," he reasoned out as he put the binoculars back to his face again, to check out what Trunks just spotted earlier. However, a few seconds later, he pulled it away from his face, then put it back closer, then away, then closer.

"Goten, what are you doing?! We're going to lose track of them!"

"I can't see anything!" the younger warrior answered, exasperated. "This stupid thing doesn't work!" he complained, but when he saw that his best friend was on rolling of the floor in laughter, he stopped. "Trunks? Trunks? What's the matter?

Trunks continued to laugh, and then when he finally calmed down, he said, "Goten you idiot! You were covering the lens with your hands! Of course you can't see anything if the lens are covered! You are such an idiot!"

"I am not!" Goten replied defensively. "Mom just doesn't buy me these stuff."

"What does she buy you?" Trunks asked. "Books? Or---" he was cut short with his teasing, however, as a loud voice thundered from inside the building.

"BRAT! WHERE ARE THEY?!"

He grabbed the binoculars from Goten and searched for two figures. When he finally spotted them, he yelled back, "THEY JUST LEFT THE HOUSE, OTOUSAN!"

"GET BACK IN HERE! I NEED HELP!" the Saiyajin no Ouji shouted back, and Trunks came running back inside the building. Now that Trunks was gone, Goten took the opportunity to experiment with the binoculars and see how it would really work. It didn't take him long enough to master how to use it, though, so he began sightseeing.

He stopped.

He magnified the image so he could confirm that what he was seeing was real. And when he saw that it was indeed happening, he turned his head and yelled, "VEGETA-SAN!!"

"WHAT IS IT, BRAT?!"

Goten peered into the binoculars again, and then replied, "THEY'RE FLYING!"

"Dad... does that still hurt?"

Goku had an ice pack sitting on the lump on his head. "Now that you asked me, it still does," he whimpered. "I hope Korin has some senzu beans to spare when we get there."

"Dad... that's just a lump by mom's frying pan. You don't need a senzu bean for that."

"But your mom is stronger now than ever."

"Oh. Goten and I must've gotten used to her already," Gohan said, then he turned to his father. "Dad, do you think this is a good idea? I mean, they told me that there'll be no flying... and what if they see us?"

"Don't worry about it, son. Everything will be fine. Trust me."

"NANI?!" Vegeta's voice thundered as he rushed out to Goten's side and yanked the binoculars away from the little boy. His eyes then narrowed significantly, but a soft chuckle escaped his lips. "Kakkarot, Kakkarot. My, I'm starting to like this."

"You actually do?" Trunks asked, looking up at his father.

"You're going to do a great job in the future, son," Vegeta said, ruffling Trunks' hair. "You've already proven that to me."

"Wow, Trunks!" Goten squealed. "I hope we'll get lots of candy for this!"

Vegeta snorted. "Is that all you ever want, brat? Is that all your father ever taught you? There will be greater rewards for other exploits better and greater than this one. That includes wealth and power."

"And candy?" Goten asked hopefully.

"And candy..." Vegeta answered with an exasperated sigh.

"How much will you give us, Otousan? Will you give us toys too? And a few hours in the Gravity Room?" Trunks asked, trying to get a good bargain.

"If you'll manage to take over the world I'll give the Gravity Room to both of you," Vegeta joked in reply.

The two demi-saiyajins looked at each other, and then... they smirked.

The evil plans forming in their heads were stopped, however, by the Saiyajin no Ouji's words, set in with a mischievous tone. "Okay, brats, we've prepared this emergency measure! Let's get this done quickly!"

Gohan stopped.

"What's wrong, son?" his father asked as he stopped as well.

"We're being watched."

Goku looked around, looking for eyes watching them, but to no avail. "Gohan, don't worry too much. We'll rescue Videl. So don't worry about it."

"But dad... What if... they know... that we disobeyed the rules...?"

Goku took his son's hand, and then he put two fingers to his forehead. "Then let's hurry up so they won't notice," he muttered as he shut his eyes, locked on to Korin's ki, and teleported themselves there.

Korin was walking around his tower, as a routine of his, when he bumped into a tall figure that he hadn't seen for sometime.

"Hello, Master Korin."

"Goku?" he asked as he looked UP. "Ah, yes, it is you."

"Long time no see, Master Korin."

"And Gohan is here as well! What brings the two of you here? You seem... in a hurry."

Gohan then narrated what happened, and when he finished his story, Korin seemed to be in deep thought. "Mmm... I wonder who could have done that? Well why don't you ask Dende? I'm sure he knows what's going on."

"The clues given to me on the last phone call all pointed to this place!" Gohan exclaimed, but then he added sadly. "Or so I thought..."

"Why don't you check the tower? Maybe those kidnappers came in and put whatever they wanted to put somewhere in the tower without me noticing..."

Korin's words made Gohan stop. _Put whatever they wanted to put somewhere in the tower... how could he make such a detailed guess...?_

"GOHAN!" a voice suddenly thundered from under the tower. "Do you think you can deceive us?! You broke the rules, and for that... a loved one of yours will pay."

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE HURT VIDEL!" Gohan screamed.

The enemy burst into laughter. "Hurt Videl? Oh no, who said I was gonna hurt her?"

"Nii-chan! Help me! Daddy! Help!" Goten exclaimed.

Goku's eyes narrowed. True, Goten was in trouble, but his scream wasn't too convincing. And Goku heard Trunks' laughter in the background, though it was... very faint.

To add to Goku's suspicion, he heard a very faint, "Do it properly!" before a more convincing scream escaped Goten's lips. "NIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-CHAN!! HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEE! DAAAAAAAAAAAADDDYYYYY! HEEEEEEEELP!!!!!"

However, Gohan was too panicked to notice. 

"Oh no..."


	7. Nani?! Vegeta?!

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Six - Nani?! Vegeta?!_

"We gave you the rules. But you broke them. So we're going to stop being nice. You want to play rough? Then let's play rough."

Both of Gohan's hands were clamped, and he yelled, "Lay a finger on my brother and I'm going to kill you all! That I swear! I'm going to kill you---"

"I dare you to try, brat. I dare you to."

And then, silence.

_Brat...?_

Goku looked at Gohan, then he grabbed the younger saiyajin's arm. "Let us go, Gohan," he said as he put two fingers to his forehead. "I know how we can get there."

"Dad, no!" Gohan yelled back. "They're going to hurt Goten if we don't play by their rules! We have to play things their way! We have to---"

"If my hunch is right, it's them who's in for more trouble," Goku countered. "Come on, Gohan, let's go."

"And where do you think you're going?" the voice teased. "I'll say this for the last time, follow the rules... or the girl... and the kid... is going to get it."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Two kids were rolling on the floor in laughter in front of Videl, who was still tied up to the wall with ki-rings. The horror on her face was the complete opposite of the boys' expressions. One was a spiky-haired chibi, while the other was a lavender-haired boy, and they continued to laugh as Videl whined in defiance.

"NOOOOOO!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

The older boy got up to face her and held up a small device in his hand. "Oh yes!" he taunted as he pointed the device in his hand to a box-shaped contraption in front of the other kid. "Oh yes, Videl! Let's do this!"

He flipped a switch.

Gohan froze as he heard Videl's scream from the other end of the line. As her screams grew louder and louder, he began shaking uncontrollably, and without much thought, he blasted the transmitter, and a part of Korin's tower with it. "Take me to where they are, dad. Take me there! They've hurt her long enough, and for that, they will pay!"

And Goku teleported themselves to Goten and Videls' location.

A cloaked figure stood in front of Goku and Gohan when they arrived at the location of the people they were supposed to rescue. He looked really short for his age, and they could now sense his aura that was carefully hidden a while back. However, Gohan was too furious to notice what was obvious.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

As he heard another scream escape from the lips of the woman he loved, he immediately charged for the man behind it all. His hands swiftly went to the man's neck, and he began to strangle him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! IT HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURTS!! STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!" Videl continued to scream from inside another room, followed shortly by demonic laughter apparently from two children. In his anger, Gohan pressed his hands on the enemy's neck even harder, until the other managed to charge up a ki-blast that knocked the saiyajin away.

"NOOOOOOOOO!! STOP IT!! GOHAN-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!"

The device lay unnoticed on the floor as the two children continued to burst out in laughter in front of the tortured teenager. Everything was just driving her out of her mind, everything was making her lose more and more of the sanity she had left. And the torture continued to her dismay, and all that she could do was scream out the name of the man who protected her all this time. 

That was all she could do.

"Let them go!" Gohan snapped at the cloaked warrior he was now facing with his father. Although Goku wasn't really paying much attention, he was busy looking around for some odd reason that Gohan could not explain. At one moment, he would stare at the walls and the roof; at their nemesis in the next; and sometimes he seemed to be putting clues together. But Gohan didn't have time to mind his father. The task was at hand. He had to save Videl and Goten, no matter what the cost. No matter what it would take him.

"Make me."

Gohan attacked in fury, throwing punches, kicks and ki-blasts blindly at the enemy. To his amazement --- and Goku's puzzlement, as that was his current state --- their foe seemed to be enjoying what they were doing. And to add to their confusion --- Goku's confusion, that is --- the cloaked man seemed to hold himself back for some odd reason. He only attacked once, and the blast he fired was clearly one of his weakest ones. The younger saiyajin jumped away from the enemy and once he landed, he held his hands over his head as he began to charge up a massive ki-blast.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

he enemy folded his arms as he stopped moving, and he was directly in the path of the ki-blast Gohan would fire. But he didn't seem to know. Or he didn't seem to care. He just stood there, without any movement. He just waited for the blast.

"SENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!"

Goku continued to run his hand through the walls as he examined what they were made of. He used his fists to knock on the walls and check how thick they were, and what they were possibly made of. He then put his ear against the wall to listen for sounds from the other side, and he could still hear Videl's screams and laughter of two kids who were obviously enjoying. And with that, was the sound of... 

Someone _singing...?_

And then, the singing stopped.

For once, Goku seemed to be actually thinking. He took a second to look at Gohan, who was increasing the power and size of the blast he was planning to fire. Their enemy still stood there as if nothing was happening, looking smug as ever. Goku could see the lower part of his face even though the hood pretty much shrouded the rest of his features. And then, Goku turned away from the battle as he continued to investigate the area they were in, and at the same time, he tried to figure out how to get Videl and Goten out. He was too caught up in his _investigations_ that he forgot that he could easily do so by just locking on to Videl's ki and teleporting there. 

He was thinking too much. Too much, indeed.

Gohan hissed, "You shall pay for what you've done, you monster."

"Your blast won't hurt me," the other continued to taunt.

"We'll see," he sneered. "KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

_I love you, you love me, we're one happy family,  
With a great big hug, and a kiss from me to you,  
Won't you say you love me too?_

They were all petrified as the song echoed continuously. They were so petrified, in fact, that the ki-blast Gohan was charging up completely died down. The song hurt their ears, and it prevented them from moving.

_I love you, you love me, we're one happy family..._

The cloaked man could not take it any longer. He turned around and yelled --- a yell that surpassed Chichi's. Goku and Gohan, who knew what was coming because they had seen Chichi yell so many times before, covered their ears in an instant.

"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP PLAYING WITH MY FAVORITE TAPE, DAMNIT!!"

An earthquake accompanied the yell, and once it was over, a part of the wall seemed to separate from the rest, and a head stuck out from the inside. It was a little boy, with lavender hair and blue eyes. A little boy Goku and Gohan had seen almost every day. And he said, "Sorry, Otousan! It was a mistake!"

It took another second for all the events to register into Gohan's brain, who was used to solving all sorts of problems ranging from basic algebra to the most complicated ends of trigonometry. Then everything fell into place, and he felt like smacking himself in the head --- hard --- and then killing himself for not noticing what was obvious all along. However, to his surprise, he found himself rolling on the floor in laughter.

"What's so funny, brat?!"

"Gohan, what's wrong?" Goku asked cluelessly.

The song continued to play. 

_I love you. You love me. We're one happy family. _

Yes, that song. 

It still continued to play, for the chibi left behind still did not get it into his brain that the yell from the mastermind of the prank was supposed to be his cue for him to stop the tape. But no, the song continued. And this time, it was a girl's laughter that went in chorus with Gohan's.

"Gohan, what's going on? Can you please explain it to me?" Goku asked. "I have the clues, but I can't seem to figure stuff out for some reason..."

A pair of cold, angry eyes darted towards the kid, and in fear, Trunks ran back into his hiding place and slammed the door-which-looked-like-part-of-the-wall shut.

"WAIT!! WHAT THE---?!?! BARNEY?!?! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Gohan exclaimed as he continued to roll on the floor in laughter. The more the song played, the more he could not stop himself from bursting in laughter. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt, and tears were coming out of his eyes.

Then it hit Goku. The saiyajin stared at the person Gohan was fighting with earlier, and at the same time, the other turned to face him with a face as read as a tomato. Goku could not help hold back his shock. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened considerably, and with a voice clearly depicting disbelief --- a voice, which too, was nearly drowned by the continuous laughter of Gohan and Videl --- he managed to choke out, "Nani?! Vegeta?!"


	8. Tonsillitis, Appendicitis and Sugaritis

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Seven - Tonsillitis, Appendicitis, and Sugaritis_

"I love you, you love me, we're one happy family," Videl sang out loud and the two boys who were holding her captive covered their ears in fright. She noticed that she was actually driving them insane, so she continued to sing to get back at them for what they've done to her earlier. "With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you! Won't you say you love me tooooooooooo?"

"STOP IT! AAAAAAH! STOP IT!" Trunks wailed as Goten just covered his ears even tighter. However, to the kids' dismay, Videl merely repeated the song, until Trunks made up his mind that it was time to reverse the situation and torture Videl like what they did earlier. He slowly inched towards the television, took out his father's favorite tape, put in the one they were playing earlier, and held the remote control. _Baka, Goten! It's all his fault! Now Goku and Gohan know we're behind this prank... if only he did not stick in this Barney tape and just stuck with our first weapon, we wouldn't have gotten in trouble!_

"Trunks, I'm sorry!" Goten cried out as if he heard every word his best friend said. "I was just going to rewind it---"

"I love you, you love me..."

"VIDEL SHUT UP!" they chorused, and Goten continued. "And I thought that it would torture her as much as the first tape did. I just tried to make things hard for her! I'm just not... as good as you are with these pranks!" he exclaimed, ending it with a sniffle.

"Nevermind, Goten," Trunks told his best friend assuringly. "You'll learn in time. They said that experience is the best teacher. And you learn from your mistakes. So next time, we know well enough that Videl is immune to Barney, and my dad isn't. But we don't have much time. Let's get on and make use of the time we have left!"

With a smirk, Trunks pressed _Play_, and the opening credits rolled. Videl could only stare at the TV screen in horror, and she started to go berserk, shaking and trying to break free before the show would actually start. She only had a few seconds more, and there wasn't much time. She had to get away. If there was anything worse than Barney, it was _this_ one.

Vegeta was in a deep shade of red as his rival burst out laughing as well. At first, it was Kakkarot's brat, now it was Kakkarot himself. He was shaking his fist in fury as he thought of the two blasted demi-saiyajins that screwed up all their plans. Their plans were flawless. That was what they thought so. As the Master Prankster thought of what just happened, he was sure that it was Kakkarot's clone who screwed up. After all, like father, like son --- and Kakkarot was a total idiot --- and he was now very positive that the kid was the one behind the mess. _My brat needs to teach that clone of Kakkarot the right way to play a prank... or we'll never get any of our plans right!_

However, his attention was interrupted as Goku --- who was still in a laughing fit --- exclaimed, "So Trunks was right all along! You _are_ a sissy!"

Anger filled the Saiyajin no Ouji then and there. His own brat... called him... a _sissy?! _Now, he was redder than ever. His aura was flaring up, his rage was about to break lose. In fact, he told himself that if he would hear another insult from the third class baka who was rolling in laughter in front of him with his son, the rage he would have at that time would be enough to make him turn Super Saiyajin 3. Or even something more.

He gritted his teeth as he forced himself to look at Goku, and exclaimed in a very furious voice, "I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"I AM NOT!"

Son Goku bolted up to face the wrath of the prince, and with a sheepish grin, he continued to force his way through his insult. "Yes you're a sissy! You really are!"

"NO I'M NOT!" Vegeta growled.

"You are, YES YOU ARE!" Goku snapped back, his voice slowly rising in pitch, it was alarming. Although Gohan could tell that his father was enjoying what he was doing, and that Vegeta would pounce on him anytime now.

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

"AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE!"

"You're a baka."

"I am?" Goku asked as Vegeta spat out his counter-insult coldly. He looked at his opponent with disbelief on his face. A... _baka? _An..._ idiot?_ Vegeta considered him as that? A stupid third class warrior? Goku could not believe it, he did not want to believe it. He stiffened and said, "Prove it!"

The other folded his arms in front of his chest arrogantly and snorted. "Well, then, Kakkarot. What is 1 + 1?"

"1 + 1...?" he asked in confusion, and then he began to pace back and forth as he thought of the answer. "Ummm... five minus two is zero... zero plus two is one... so one plus one is..."

Gohan could not contain his laughter at what was going on, but when Vegeta resumed picking on his father for not being able to answer his question, he decided to lend his father a hand. "Well, what _is_ 1 + 1?"

"What do you think of me, brat? Dumb? Brainless? An idiot, like Kakkarot? Of course not! How dare you insult me, you son of the baka Kakkarot, a third class warrior who's a pathetic excuse for a man! I am Vegeta, the prince of the Saiyajins! How dare you underestimate me! Even a two-year old can answer that question!" Vegeta exclaimed arrogantly, and then he lifted his chin in the same arrogant manner. "It's three, baka!"

The screen went pitch black as the show was about to start, and Videl could not help suppressing her grin. Trunks, on the other hand, began to panic, until he saw Goten sprawling on the floor. The black-haired chibi had tripped on the wire, and it made the television go off. Trunks sent a glare to his best friend, who hurriedly plugged it back on.

And the show began.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!! STOP IT!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Gohan was immediately alerted when he heard the scream, which grew louder and louder every second. He clamped his right hand into a fist in fury, and finally, not taking it any longer, he blasted the wall and rushed inside to help his love out. The first person he saw was Trunks and Goten. The two troublemakers, and obviously, Vegeta's allies. "YOU! I should've known... it was you two all along!"

"Oniichan! It wasn't my fault!" Goten exclaimed trying to wash his hands from what was obvious. "It was Trunks' idea! He wanted to get revenge on Videl, as Vegeta-san wanted to get revenge on daddy! They just dragged me along!"

The older saiyajin did not bother to listen to his brother's plea as he shot daggers at them. Without moving his eyes, he hissed, "Let her go. Now."

_It's time for Teletubbies! Time for Teletubbies!_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

His jaw dropped. "Tele... tubbies...?"

_Tinky Winky!  
Dipsy!  
Lala!  
Po!  
Teletubbies! Teletubbies!  
Say "hello"!_

Gohan could not believe what he was hearing. "Tele... tubbies...?" he once again asked in a weak voice, and as his mentally unstable girlfriend continued to shriek in agony, the two troublemakers were rolling on the floor with laughter.

"GOHAN-KUN, MAKE IT STOP!" Videl pleaded, and without warning, Gohan blasted the television and what everything that was in close range.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Trunks yelled as he dove towards the blast just to grab one of the tapes --- his father's favorite, Barney. He got it in time, but a second after, the blast knocked him off, and it sent him slamming against the wall. Almost instantly, in some sort of reflex action, Goten rushed towards his injured best friend, while Gohan pulled out the ki-rings that kept Videl pinned to the wall and set her free. To his shock, she planted a kiss on his cheek, a sign of her gratitude, and it made the teenager blush furiously.

However, their joy was cut short. From the smoke, a small yet furious voice hissed, "You... will... pay." They turned to look at what was going on, and they saw Trunks struggling to get up as he was being supported by Goten. Vegeta's brat then told Goten to give the tape back to his father, and while the younger of the trouble duo was out doing that errand, he began with his _I'm going to make you pay_ speech. "How dare you, Gohan! You blasted my television! And my VHS player! How dare you! This was the perfect prank we ever came up with, and you just had to ruin it all! You will pay for this greatly, Gohan! We're going to make sure that you're going to pay!"

The other slowly pushed Videl behind him. "Stay behind me. I'll take care of you. He stands no chance."

"Do not underestimate your foe, saiyajin! Don't you know who you're facing?! You're going to be fighting the two greatest fighters in this world, the ferocious and fearless saiyajin duo that will soon take over the world! Yes, you heard me right! We will take over the world! We will take all the candy there is, and eat them all up until our tonsils get sore and we'll get tonsillitis! We will take all the cake and food and eat them up until our appendix gets sore and we'll have appendicitis! And... we will... ummm... we will..." Trunks began to stammer as he forgot the rest of his speech. He looked at his best friend, who was at a distance and was currently being yelled at by the Saiyajin no Ouji, and realized that he would have to say the rest of the speech while waiting for Goten. "Err... we will... we will... ah! We will take all the sugar and eat them until our... ummm... until we get... sugaritis!"

"Diabetes," Gohan corrected knowingly.

"Uh... yeah! Diabetes!" Trunks exclaimed with a grin as Goten came speeding towards his position. "And that will begin once we complete the ritual that will make us the most powerful warriors in the universe!"

Goten stood on one corner, both his arms raised sideways, parallel to the floor, adjacent to his chest and both hands pointed to the left. Trunks stood on the opposite direction, his arms in the same position only that they were both pointing to the right.

"Uh-oh..." Gohan muttered as he knew what was coming. "Uh... Videl... I think you should get out of here."

"FUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!"

"SIOOOOONNN!!!!!!"

"HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"


	9. Technique Class 101

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Eight - Technique Class 101_

"Chichi! I'm glad you got the time to visit!" Bulma exclaimed as soon as she found out who the person was at the other side of the door. However, when she saw Chichi's expression, she became worried herself. "What's wrong? You seem... worried."

Chichi began to cry as she flung her arms around Bulma. "It's so horrible, Bulma! These evil people kidnapped Videl, and they won't give her back unless Gohan and Goku would participate in this hunting game of sorts! They HAVE to get her back, Bulma! She's my only hope to get grandchildren early!" she exclaimed as she burst into tears. "They're really horrible! What do they want to do with her anyway?! She's only a child!"

"Now, now, Chichi," Bulma said as she patted her friend encouragingly. "It's alright, don't worry. Why don't you come inside? Want tea?"

Goku's wife merely shook her head. "I want Videl, as well as my sons and husband back, unharmed. If those kidnappers do something horrible to them, I swear I will---"

"Hey Chichi, if Gohan and Goku left to deal with those kidnappers, then who's left with Goten and my son at your place?" Bulma inquired as she brought a cup of tea for her fellow mother. However, she received a different reaction, for Chichi only looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean, _at my place?_ Goten asked permission to hang out with Trunks _here_, and that's one of the reasons why I dropped by!"

Bulma stopped, and then she sat down beside Chichi, seemingly thinking. And after a few moments, she spoke up. "Did anyone else answer the phone besides Gohan when the kidnappers called?"

"I did," Chichi answered. "Why?"

"How did the kidnapper sound?"

The other paused to recall. "There were two of them. The first one sounded... young... and his voice would fluctuate every now and then. His voice would like, change in pitch, once in a while. Now that I think of it, it's like a disguise. And he seemed... scared... when I said that I'll hunt him down with my frying pan. The other one, who took the phone when the first one got _scared_ with my threat... had a loud and gruff voice... He sounded very... scary."

"Did the second one growl in a really deep voice that's barely audible, yet it sent shivers to your spine?" Bulma asked. When Chichi nodded, she popped another question. "And the first one, did he talk in a really slow manner, and did he use deep _adult-ish_ words?"

Chichi nodded again.

Her eyes narrowed significantly as she bolted up and clamped her hand into a fist. "Those two are going to get it..." she whispered to herself, and then she turned to Chichi. "Did you bring me a spare weapon? It's time for us to go and hunt those _kidnappers_."

Tears were in Chichi's eyes as she hugged Bulma as tightly as she could. "Thank you, Bulma! Thank you for your help!" she exclaimed, and then she pulled something out of her bag. IT was the exact replica of her Frying-Pan-of-Catastrophe™, and she handed it proudly to the blue-haired genius. "For your help, here is the weapon every mother should have. The Frying-Pan-of-Catastrophe™, soon to be available at stores near you. Brought to you by Capsule Corporation, your leading supplier of priceless goods and state-of-the-art merchandise."

"Hey, you're great at advertising, Chichi! Maybe we SHOULD start marketing this, and I'll have you as our commercial model. What do you say?" Bulma ranted excitedly.

"Alright, but first, the kidnappers."

"Uh... yes, the kidnappers first. But we don't really need to worry, Chichi. I think I know who our enemies are..." she paused to smirk. "And I think I know where to find them..."

The battle between Gohan and Gotenks had already begun, and it was evident because of all the holes made by ki-blasts passing through the walls. Everything was a mess, and things did not look good, especially for Gohan. Gotenks was undeniably powerful, and the fused chibis didn't even transform to SSJ3 yet. It worried Gohan greatly, because he knew that without his Mystic power-up, his chance of winning the battle against an SSJ3 fusion was bleak. He just hoped that he would find a hole that will enable him to put up a sneak attack and bring the demi-saiyajins down.

_Thirty minutes_, Gohan told himself. _Their fusion will last for thirty minutes, I have to hold them until that time comes. They must not transform into SSJ3 at that span of time. When they de-fuse, it will be the perfect time to attack. Thirty minutes... Kami, help me..._

Then an idea hit him. Gotenks was known not only for his arrogance, but also for his numerous attacks that are either useless, or plain stupid. A smirk then formed on Gohan's features as he blocked another punch from Gotenks, and he backed off from the duo. "Hey, Gotenks! Since I never really got the chance to watch your battle with Buu... Can you show me some of the moves you used on him?"

The other saiyajin was about to charge at Gohan, when that suggestion came to him. And then it happened. His pride and arrogance overruled his common sense. "Really, Gohan? You want to see it? I got the coolest moves ever!"

"Sure, why not?" Gohan replied with a grin. "I want to see ALL your moves, do you hear me? ALL of them! And perhaps, after we get things cleared up... you can teach me some of your really neat tricks! What do you say, Gotenks?"

Gotenks folded his arms in front of his chest, seemingly pondering, and then he smirked. "Alright, but only because you asked us. But before we proceed with our little show," he said as he flew over to Gohan and put his face really close to his. "Would you mind telling us who's the strongest warrior in the world?"

"Why, Gotenks, of course!"

Contented, Gotenks smiled, flew back to his place and resumed speaking. "Well then. Let's start. We don't have much time."

"I'm telling you, Vegeta, you're wrong!" Goku said as he continued to pace back and forth in front of the exasperated Prince. "One plus one does not equal to three!"

The other saiyajin snorted. "Look who's talking. You didn't even get to figure anything out. At least I managed to solve the problem... AND IT IS HELL CORRECT!" he ended with a yell.

Goku merely sighed, and then he squatted on the floor, and began drawing figures with his hand, trying to solve the problem at hand. He drew circles, lines, squares and even images of himself, and Vegeta grew tired of his antics. "Oi, Kakkarot," he said in a rather annoyed manner. 

Goku looked up and saw that the Saiyajin no Ouji was handing him a pen. He smiled, took the pen, and said, "Thanks, Vegeta!" 

Then he resumed to his pondering. "Now, let's see..." he began as he drew a stick on the floor. "That's one. And this is another one," he blurted out as he drew another stick. "So that one plus that other one..."

"Three," Vegeta pitched in with a snort. "It's three, baka, how many times do I have to tell you?"

The other did not pay attention as he went on with his drawing. He drew a line from the tip of stick A to the tip of stick B. Then he drew another one from the bottom tip of stick B to stick A. Then he drew two diagonal lines, and he drew MORE lines inside.

Vegeta tapped his foot impatiently. _At the rate he's going, it'll take him forever to figure out that one plus one is three. Stupid third class baka, he'll never learn._

"First, I'm going to show you the _Great Fighting Top!_ It's a really neat trick, which only _I_ can perform. Of course, since I'm your master, you can also learn this technique! Let's see... how do I explain this complicated thing to you... Oh well, just follow me!" Gotenks explained as he put his arms into the air, then one leg out, and the other leg straight.

"OOOH! LIKE BALLET!" Videl exclaimed as she stood up from her sitting position. "Is it like this, Goten and Trunks?"

Gotenks scoffed. "Yes, Videl-chan, like ballet. And it's Gotenks," he added with a glare. When he saw that Gohan and Videl were already in their positions, he smiled. "Afterwards, all you have to do is spin around and around, like a top!"

Videl looked on in pure awe as Gotenks performed the _Great Fighting Top_. Fascinated by how the technique worked, she decided to try it herself, although it was a painstaking job. Finally, after a few errors, she managed to perform it, but there was one problem.

She could not stop. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" she screamed. "GOHAN-KUUUUUUUUUN!!!! MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"THAT'S THE REAL DOWNER TO THIS TECHNIQUE!" Gotenks yelled as he continued to spin with unbelievable speed. "STOPPING!!!"

Before Gohan could react, Gotenks and Videl came spinning towards each other, and a few seconds later, they crashed.

Suddenly, Goku jumped up from his squatting position. "I GOT IT!" he yelled gleefully as he pointed to the lines that were scribbled on the floor. There were only two lines left, stick A and stick B. He didn't even bother to stop and explain to Vegeta, he merely jumped around his fellow saiyajin, overjoyed that he _finally_ got the answer to the problem.

Arms still folded in front of his chest, his usual mannerism, Vegeta asked in a cold voice, "Well? What IS the answer, Kakkarot?"

Goku could not supress the grin that was planted on his face. And he would only have that kind of grin on his features if he'd be in a Eat-All-You-Can party at Capsule Corporation, or in some other place where a lot of food would be free for his consumption.

"Baka, answer me!" Vegeta snapped, but he was a bit startled when he saw the look of _pride_ on Goku's face. Usually, Goku had that look during battles. But right now, it was utterly useless to have that look around. Unless you're the Saiyajin no Ouji, and your name is Vegeta. "Kakkarot, hurry up with the answer you dummy!"

"Patience, Vegeta," Goku said cooly. "And please don't take it personally that I got the answer right and you didn't. One plus one is..."

"Is..?" Vegeta asked with a slight growl.

"ONE PLUS ONE IS ELEVEN!"

After that accident, Gohan was more careful and he took it upon himself to watch over Videl, no matter what it would take. Luckily, she didn't really hurt herself when they crashed into each other, although Gohan still suspected that Gotenks did it entirely on purpose.

On the other hand, Videl was clearly enjoying the session, as she learned all sorts of _techniques_ from the _great, powerful, unbeatable, handsome, gorgeous, ass-kickin_ Gotenks. He showed them the _Great Fighting Top, Dynamite Kick, Rolling Thunder Punch, Wild Boar Attack, Galactic Donut _and_ Renzoku Shine._

"And now, I will show you one last technique!" Gotenks exclaimed gleefully as Videl clapped her hands and cheered for him. "I saved the best for last, and this is it! My most powerful technique!"

Gohan shut his eyes. This was it. SSJ3. And after that transformation, he would get attacked by the fused demi-saiyajins, and it would be his end. He stopped to look at his watch. Ten minutes. There was ten minutes left. He slumped in defeat. It was hopeless. He had to endure ten minutes of Gotenks in SSJ3 form. _This is it... I'm dead... Dende, please do me a favor and send my mother in here and her frying pan, PLEASE?!_

Silence filled the room as Gotenks just stood there, unmoving, for a couple of seconds. Then, a white blob emerged from his mouth, and it formed into... a ghost. A ghost which looked like Gotenks, except that the ghost was white, and that it was... a ghost.

"COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!" Videl exclaimed as she jumped up and down. "A GHOST! A GHOST! THAT'S SOOOO COOOL! WHAT'S IT CALLED?"

A tiny smirked formed on Gotenks features, unnoticed by Gohan and Videl. "The move is called _Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack_."

"COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!! SUPER GHOST KAMIKAZE ATTAAAAACK!" she yelled as she bounced up and down, until she stopped and looked at Gotenks. "What's it doing?" Videl asked in confusion, and then, she brightened up. "IT'S MAKING FACES!" To Gohan's horror, she ran up to the ghost. "SUPER GHOST! BE MY FRIEND! SUPER GHOST! BE MY FRIEND! I'M VIDEL! CAN WE BE FRIENDS, SUPER GHOST? PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE?"

"Videl, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Gohan yelled as he rushed to save his girlfriend from the explosion the ghost would cause on contact, but as he took her into his arms, he accidentally brushed his arm against the ghost, and a great explosion occured.

When the smoke died down, Gohan and Videl were on the floor, in each other's arms, while Gotenks stood in the midst of the rubble, with a look of triumph on his face as he looked down at the fallen warriors. "Well, well. Looks like I get the last laugh after all," he sneered before bursting into a laugh of triumph.


	10. The Strongest Warriors in the World

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Nine - The Strongest Warriors in the World_

"ELEVEN?!" Vegeta thundered. "One plus one is ELEVEN?! Kakkarot, you baka, you got it all wrong! It's not eleven! It's THREE! T-H-R-E-E!" he yelled at Goku while showing three fingers to his face.

The other saiyajin shook his head, refusing to accept what Vegeta told him. "How could it be three? That's not possible! Not unless you count what's in the middle---"

"That's the point!" the prince snapped as he held out two fingers. "See, Kakkarot? That's one finger, and this is another. Now, if you put two fingers together, you have to add up not only these two, but also the space that's between them. So it's three!"

Goku shook his head as he held out two fingers, one from each hand. "Well look at this, Vegeta. One finger, plus one finger. Now, what do these two fingers look like? Two vertical lines, or the number eleven! It's as simple as that!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"ELEVENNNNNNNNN!"

"Well, well, looks like I get the last laugh after all," Gotenks sneered before he burst into a laugh of triumph. He had never had so much fun in his life. Not only did he get the chance to torture Videl, as well as show off his techniques, but he also managed to beat Gohan without breaking a sweat. "It's just too bad that I wasn't able to show off my Super Saiyajin 3 transformation... What a shame. Gohan wasn't strong enough to hang on until that moment."

Unknown to him, Gohan wasn't knocked out cold, but he pretended he was, so that he could catch Gotenks off-guard and therefore, defeat him for good. Trying hard not to move too much for Gotenks to notice that he's awake, he glanced at his watch. The fusion had two minutes left.

A smirk appeared on Gohan's features. _Two minutes more, and you're going down, Goten and Trunks. I won't let you get away with what you've done. I won't let you get away without paying the price. You'll soon feel my wrath._

The two saiyajin purebloods were still fighting over the Math problem they've been working on. In fact, they didn't even notice the major explosion that just occured, when Gohan accidentally brushed his arm against Gotenks' Super Ghost. They still stood outside the hidden room, fighting over the answer to the greatest problem of all time: 1 + 1.

"Kakkarot, don't you dare talk to me like that! I am the PRINCE OF THE SAIYAJINS, and you must respect me, and follow my lead! One plus one is three and there's nothing you can do to change that, because it's a fact!"

"What does being the prince have to do with this?" Goku asked in a rather confused manner as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't get it, what's the big deal with being the prince? It doesn't mean you know the answer to the problem!"

Vegeta glared at Goku and snapped, "Of course it does! Because the prince of the saiyajins is the strongest, sexiest and smartest person in the universe! And again, there's nothing you can do to change that, because it's a fact! And there's no way in hell that a third-class baka such as you would be greater than the prince, and that's ME!"

"Vegeta, we can't fight over this matter forever! We have to settle this now!" Goku said, and then he had a confused look on his face once again as Vegeta transformed and took up a fighting stance. "Umm... Vegeta... what are you doing?"

"Settling the matter," he spat. "Didn't you say that's what you wanted, Kakkarot? To have this matter settled? I mean, _we can't fight over this matter forever!_" he mimicked. "So get on with the fight so we can get this matter settled! Come on, Kakkarot! Transform!"

"Okay, Vegeta. Whatever you say. Ummm... after you...?"

The prince lunged at him, and gave him three punches right in the gut. "ONE! TWO! THREE!" he yelled as he counted every punch. "ONE PLUS ONE IS THREE!"

Goku was thrown backwards a bit, and then, he transformed. Before he could make a move, however, Vegeta charged once again, and this time, aimed three kicks at the other saiyajin's head, still counting everytime he executed the attack. Luckily for Goku, he managed to block every kick, and all of a sudden, he grabbed Vegeta's leg and threw him forcefully away.

It wasn't over yet, though. Vegeta managed to stop himself from slamming to the floor with his palm, and then he used it as a springboard to once again dive towards Goku, throwing three ki-blasts in the process, which Goku easily deflected.

Then it was Goku's turn to attack. He let out a loud yell as he rushed towards Vegeta, determined to prove his point as he counted every punch he sent towards his enemy. "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! Uh... EIGHT! SIX! SEVEN! Ummm... FOUR! Wait, I'm done with four... Ummm... Oh yeah! NINE! TEN! Uh..."

"Eleven, you dummy," Vegeta blurted out as he fended off each attack.

"Eleven?" Goku asked as he stopped in his tracks. "Wait, let me review that. Ummm... One, two, three, four, five, eight, six, seven, nine, ten..."

Vegeta sighed, exasperated. "Baka! It's ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN! Can't you get that into your head?! Or is it too much for your pea-sized brain?!"

"Okay, now I know! One, two, three, four, nine, six---" his voice trailed off as he saw Vegeta slap himself in the forehead, and Goku instantly knew that he was wrong. "I mean... five, six, seven... eight... nine, ten... eleven. There! Let me recite that again! One, two, three... four... five, six... seven... eight, nine... ten, ELEVEN! Yes! I got it right! I got it right!" Goku yelled gleefully as he lifted Vegeta off his feet in a bear hug, to express his utmost gratitude. "Thanks a lot, Vegeta! You're the greatest! THANK YOU!"

"KAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRROTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PUT ME DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN!"

Goku let go and Vegeta crashed to the ground.

"KAKKAROT!" Vegeta yelled as he got up, and then resuming his yelling straight at Goku's face. "SHIMATTA, BAKAYARO!! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT, BAKA?!?"

Goku was confused. "Why are you mad? You told me to put you down... So I did! I just did what you told me! There's nothing you should be mad about, I just obeyed you!"

"BUT I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO DROP ME, BAKA! I JUST TOLD YOU TO PUT ME DOWN, NOT TO DROP ME!"

"Sorry," Goku apologized as he felt himself shrink in his fighting gi. "Gee, Vegeta, you don't need to yell at me like that. You know how sensitive saiyajin ears are. You're hurting me already."

Vegeta plainly snorted. "I would love to see you hurt, Kakkarot. I would LOVE to see you REALLY hurt, Kakkarot," he muttered, and quickly added, "And I would love to take out that brain of yours and see how small it really is!"

"My brain's small?" Goku asked in a rather confused manner. "I never knew that... how can you tell, Vegeta? Is your brain small too? Maybe it is... I mean, we're both saiyajins! But then, I think your brain is smaller than mine, because you're smaller than me to begin with."

That did it. The comment of having a _small brain_ really ticked Vegeta off that he lunged at Goku, determined to beat him to a bloody pulp. He threw punches and kicks at a monstrous speed, while all Goku could do was protect himself... and wait for the right moment to get back at Vegeta. He never got the opportunity, however, as Vegeta's attack never ceased.

"KAKKAROT! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME PEA-BRAINED?! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT INSULT! IF THERE'S A PEA-BRAINED THIRD-CLASS BAKA, IT'S YOU! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT ONE PLUS ONE IS THREE!"

"But it's eleven!" Goku blurted out. "I told you already, Vegeta, and I gave you the reasons!"

"THREE!"

"ELEVEN!"

"THREEEEE!"

"ELEVENNN!"

"THREE THREE THREE!"

"ELEVEN ELEVEN ELEVEN!"

"It's two."

Both saiyajins stopped in their tracks, and they looked at each other with much thought. It was Goku who spoke up first as he once again held out two fingers. "One plus one... This finger and this finger... Hey, you're right! There are TWO fingers here!"

Vegeta, who looked rather puzzled, took a good look at Goku's fingers and then at his own. After a few moments, he nodded as he realized that one plus one was indeed equal to two. _He's right... One plus one IS two... Why didn't I think of that?! No... this cannot be... Kakkarot... this third-class pea-brained baka... is smarter than me?! NO WAY! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT!_

To cover up his error, he quickly said, "Of course one plus one is two! I was just testing you! Do you think I'm dumb enough not to know what one plus one is two? In your dreams, third-class baka!"

"IN YOUR DREAMS INDEED!"

Both of them paled, and they turned to look at each other. In fear-filled voices, they whispered, "You didn't say that?!"

"I didn't," Goku answered first as blood slowly drained out of his face.

"I didn't either," Vegeta blurted out as he stared at his rival with pure horror on his features. "If we both didn't... then who..?"

The two saiyajin purebloods slowly turned their heads to look at the person... PERSONS... who spoke up, and the look on their faces were unexplainable. And when they saw IT --- one IT plus another IT equals two of IT --- they turned as white as a ghost, and...

**CLANG!**

**CLANG!**

Goku and Vegeta, the strongest warriors in the world both dropped to the floor, unconscious.

The teenage saiyajin's face was as red as a tomato as he realized the situation he was in at the moment. He and Videl, unfortunately, were in each others' arms on the floor. In short, they were in a very uncomfortable position, and there was nothing Gohan could do about it. Not until Gotenks' fusion would wear off and they would split back into the two troublemakers.

Gotenks, on the other hand, was still savoring his victory as he continued to taunt the _unconscious_ warrior that was on the ground before him. "Too bad he's not capable of his Mystic power-up anymore... It would have been a lot more fun... I wish daddy was here to see this, he'd be more than proud of us---"

The older saiyajin wondered what was wrong, because Gotenks began to back off in fright. He wanted to know who just came, but because he had his ki supressed in an attempt to pretend that he was still unconscious, he could not use it to sense who just came, or his cover would be blown. It didn't take long enough to find out, though.

"No... No... Don't come any closer! No... No... Get away from me... Don't come near me, don't come near me! I swear, this wasn't my idea! No, please, listen to me! I didn't---"

**CLANG!**

"Stars... pretty... golden... shining... blinking... flying... spinning... spinning... still spinning... stars..." those were Gotenks' lasts words before he de-fused and dropped to the floor, knocked-out cold.

Gohan felt victorious as Gotenks was knocked out. However, his problem wasn't over... _not yet_. Before he could get up from his position, before he could pull away from the unconscious Videl, a gleeful voice echoed in the room. And for Gohan, it was bad news. It was the voice that never failed to make Gohan cringe, it was the voice that never failed to make Gohan cower in fright, and now, it was the voice that made Gohan pale noticeably, even paler than Gotenks' Super Ghost.

"OH MY GOD, I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY! THIS... THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE! OH DENDE, THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!FINALLY, I'M GOING TO HAVE... I'M GOING TO HAVE... GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDCHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!"


	11. Review Special: After the Storm

**DRAGONBALL Z: IN THE EYES OF A CHILD  
**Chapter Ten and Review Special: After the Storm

A/N: *hugs everyone* Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for helping me get to the double zero! You don't know how happy you all made me! Because of that, here's a special chapter for you, special because this will focus on Gohan and Videl. After all, this is still a romance fic! So enjoy!

Gohan was glad to have left Capsule Corporation, even if he was once again stuck with his girlfriend-turned-kid. Both mothers, armed with their trusty weapons, had paired up in scolding the other saiyajins, including Goku, who was merely helping Gohan out. Chichi did not see that, though. She blamed him for not spending time with Goten, and thus, Goten was forced to stay with Trunks and Vegeta, who were _bad influences_.

That comment struck a nerve on Bulma, as she defended her husband and son from Chichi's insults. However, the boys were too scared to interfere. Well, who wouldn't be? There were two of IT, and in very close range with the women. So they just decided to keep their mouth shut while the women continued to argue, praising and bashing their families at the same time.

Gohan glanced at Videl, who skipped gleefully beside him. Too much had happened in a day, and he was certainly hungry, unable to eat breakfast in his _heroic_ attempt to save the damsel in distress from three pranksters, a television set, and terrorizing Teletubbies. However, he knew that with Videl in charge of their _date_, it would be eternity before he would get the chance to eat.

"Oh lookit that!" Videl exclaimed as she pointed towards an amusement park. "Wow! Let's go there and take a ride, Gohan-kun! Puh-lease?" she begged, looking at him with pleading puppy eyes, a technique that she either imitated or learned from Goten. "I haven't been on those for a loooong time! Puh-lease?"

He rolled his eyes, but he was left with no choice, as he reminded himself that _she_ was in charge. Warily, he said, "Whatever you wish, Videl-chan. I just hope we can eat soon, I'm starving. I didn't get to eat lunch, you know! I had to save you! I thought you were in some grave danger, but you were just tortured by a bunch of clowns"

She was gone.

"Oh Kami," Gohan muttered with an exasperated sigh. "Now where did she go?"

He darted into the amusement park, desperate to get her, but it was next to impossible to do so with all the people pushing and forcing their way through each other. However, it only took a few moments and a few nearly forceless pushes for Gohan to reach her location. 

The extravagant merry-go-round at the middle of the street fair.

"Gohan-kuuuuuuun!" Videl called out wildly from her horse, brightly colored and daintily decorated. "Get a ticket! Riiiiiiide with meeeeeeee! Come on, Gohan-kuuuuuuun! It's fuuuuuuun!"

Gohan felt himself flush in total embarrassment for all eyes were now on him. His girlfriend, who was the famous crimefighter Videl Satan, 18 years of age, was riding on a merry-go-round and acting like a total baby.

The most embarrassing part was that she wasn't aware of it, but _he_ was.

The demi-saiyajin's face was redder than ever as he was dragged away from the merry-go-round by the raven-haired girl turned chibi --- maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally. However, there were other emotions that accompanied his embarrassment at the moment. One was hunger --- he still was hungry, for he skipped breakfast --- and the other was dread. Who knows what Videl could think of?

"Ice creeeeeeeam!" Videl squealed as she pulled Gohan towards and ice-cream stand. "Come on, Gohan-kun! You said you were hungry! Let's have ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!"

"Okay, okay, okay already!" Gohan muttered in a rather irritated manner, as his saiyajin genes kicked in involuntarily. He did not notice that, though, until she stopped in her tracks and just stood there, slightly shaking.

_Oh no What have I done again? She can't throw a tantrum here! Not with all the people around_

She sniffled. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"No, no, I'm not mad at you, Videl-chan!" Gohan blurted out with a nervous laugh. "Why would I be mad at you? There's no reason for me to be mad at you!"

"Really?" Videl asked with bright eyes.

Gohan nodded as she handed a few coins to the ice cream vendor and waited for the vendor to give them their food. "If I was mad at you, then I would have left you, alone and with no one to be with."

As he led Videl towards the fountain to sit down, he could not help thinking about what he just said, which was all true. If he didn't care for her, then he would have just abandoned her. If he didn't care for her, he would have brought her back to her mansion, where she would suffer in the hands of her uncaring father.

"Why are you doing this, Gohan-kun?" Videl asked before she licked the top of her ice cream.

"Do what?" he asked in return, confused.

She looked down on the ground, seemingly embarrassed as she kicked the dust on the ground before she sat down at the ledge of the fountain. "You know looking out for me, taking care of me, giving me what I want What have I done to deserve this?"

His gaze immediately flew towards her, shocked by her words. Despite the childlike façade she had on now, he was facing the real Videl. The Videl he had grown to love in so short a time. Maybe she was close to recovery. Maybe she would fall asleep then just wake up in her right mind.

"Gohan-kun?"

He didn't know how to explain it to her at the moment, for he feared that the concept of love would be too deep for a _child_ like her. Settling for the simplest explanation, he said, "Well first and most importantly, you are my friend, and"

Videl's deep blue eyes were now staring at him intently, filled with a thousand questions, and a thousand emotions running about. And in the midst of that look, Gohan saw _her_, and he was determined to get _her_ back. He gazed deeply into her eyes, desperate to keep her in sight. And softly, he mouthed, "I love you."

"I I I I love" Videl stammered as she looked at Gohan, now red with embarrassment at what he just told her. "I'd love to eat more ice cream!" she finished as she jumped up and pranced towards the ice cream stall.

He sighed as he followed her with his gaze, and he buried his face in his hands. "Oh Kami What do I do? I love her, yes, but I don't think I can stand this any longer. Just tell me what I have to do to get her back! I'll do _anything_!"

"Oi, Gohan-kun!" she called out as she came running towards him. However, faster than Gohan could react, she tripped. She lost hold of the ice cream cones she was holding, and she was sent flying towards the water in the fountain with her head first.

"Videl-chan!" Gohan called out as he stood up in his attempt to catch her, but he was a second too late. But the trouble was not over yet, not for Gohan, that is. The two ice cream cones, with the delicacy still intact, landed right on top of Gohan's head, and it made him look like a clown with pink brain fluid --- as she bought strawberry flavored ice cream --- and two edible horns.

For the second time that day, Gohan felt very embarrassed as everyone nearby laughed at his misfortune, including Videl who was dripping wet. He lifted Videl out of the water, shook her gently to remove the excess water, and carried her towards the nearby department store to get her new clothes --- with everyone still laughing behind his back.

"But I don't like this Gohan-kun!" Videl whined as she stomped her feet angrily. "This dress is soooo ugly! Or this one! Or this one! I hate this one too! And this one as well! I hate all of these!"

Gohan could not help roll his eyes as Videl threw one dress after the other right at his face. Even at her condition, her teenage genes still kicked in, and like all other teenage girls, she still was not able to choose the dress she wanted. Gohan did not really mind, but his stomach was pestering, and his head throbbed because of it.

"Gohan-kun, lookit me!"

He spun around to look at the dress she finally picked, and his jaw dropped. Even at her condition, she still had enough teenage genes to dress herself up in a manner that would make every man drool. For moments, Gohan only stared.

She waved her hand in front of his face. "Gohan-kun? Gohan-kun?"

"H-hai, V-Videl?" he asked, stammering.

"You still gotta pay for this."

"Oh sure, no problem WHAT?!" Gohan exclaimed as she looked at her in shock. "I I gotta pay for that?"

She rubbed one boot against the other shyly, as if trying to convince him indirectly. "Well you brought me here You told me to pick what I want So"

He held up both his hands. "Okay, I give up. You win," he uttered as he rolled his eyes. _Yes, this is my life. I'm Son Gohan, son of the strongest warrior in the universe, and one of the protectors of this planet. I defeated the monstrous Cell, and aided in the extermination of Majin Buu. And yet, this girl, who is nothing compared to us, the Z-Senshi, controls me at the palm of her hand. What has this world come to?_

He sighed in exasperation as she sat right across him, with her mouth wide open. He looked at the utensils that was neatly arranged on the table, took her spoon, and scooped up some of the food. "There you go," he said in a seemingly expressionless manner.

To his surprise, however, Videl took his spoon, scooped up some of the food, and put it in front of Gohan, who was still looking at her in shock. "Gohan-kun? Aren't you going to open your mouth and let me feed you?"

Gohan blinked, and then, he opened his mouth and allowed Videl to spoonfeed him. "This is ridiculous," he commented as he finished chewing. "Just ridiculous."

"You know, what, Gohan-kun," Videl began as she shoved another spoonful into his mouth. "I'm gonna talk to my dad tomorrow and I'm going to tell him that I'm marrying you."

Gohan jumped from his seat. "N-NANI?!"

She grinned at him gleefully. "Yup, I'm gonna tell him, and if he won't agree, then I'm going to make you whoop his ass! I'm sure this will be the biggest news he'll receive yet! And if we're lucky, he'll be here today and if he will be, then I can tell him earlier!"

"I'm not going to marry you!" he snapped in response as he flushed noticeably.

"I don't care if you're not marrying me, but _I'm_ marrying you!" she exclaimed, and without warning, she jumped on top of the table and yelled, "HEY EVERYONE! THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND, GOHAN! AND I WANT TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THAT I LOVE HIM AND I'M MARRYING HIM!"

Gohan didn't know how red he was, but he was sure that he was in the deepest shade of red, thanks to his embarrassment as well as his flattery. All around him, he heard murmurs and whispers, as rumors began to spread about him, and the daughter of the World Champion. Almost instantly, he felt uneasy. 

Not knowing what to do next, he grabbed Videl and dashed out of the food court.

"Where are you going?!"

Gohan skidded to a halt, and Videl, who was being pulled behind him, bumped right into his back and the force of the impact sent them both to the ground. It didn't take long for Gohan to put himself together and help Videl up, but when he turned to see who the stranger was, he saw a pair of eyes that was staring murderously at him.

"Hi dad," Videl greeted with a wide grin. "Long time no see! How are you? I'm very fine, dad! Yup! I enjoyed staying over at Gohan-kun's place, and because I enjoyed it so much Oh yeah, guess what?"

Desperate, Gohan pulled Videl close to him and clamped his hand over her mouth while he smiled nervously at Mr. Satan. "Umm she enjoyed her stay in my place, so she told me she wants to stay there for the rest of the summer and that --- OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

He let go as Videl bit his hand with much force, and he jumped up and down, shaking his hand as a reflex action of her sudden assault. Now that Gohan was distracted, Videl turned back to her father, who was waiting for what she had to say. "Where was I? Oh yeah, guess what?"

"She's lying! That's not true! You know she had an accident and she's very unstable at the moment! Don't believe her, she doesn't know what she talking about!"

"SILENCE!" Mr. Satan thundered as he advanced towards the demi-saiyajin. He took Gohan by the shirt and hissed, "I want to hear what my daughter has to say, so shut up so I can hear it! If I find out that you're hurting my daughter, you and your lowly family, I'm going to make sure that ---"

"I'm gonna marry him!" Videl beamed.

Mr. Satan stared at Videl and even dropped Gohan in shock. "WHAT?!"

"Oh come on, dad!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Didn't you hear me? I said it loud and clear! Okay, then. Read my lips. I'm. Gonna. Marry. Gohan."

Videl's father just stood there in shock for a few moments. However, when he finally realized what her words meant, he glared back at Gohan, took him by the shirt once again, and yelled right at the young man's face, "YOU ARE NOT MARRYING MY DAUGHTER!"

"No! He's not marrying me, I am!" Videl corrected, although it meant the same thing.

Mr. Satan looked at Gohan, at his daughter, then back at Gohan. He shook his head, put the demi-saiyajin down, and smirked as he got into a fighting stance. "Let's see what you can do, _kid_. Show me what you've got! I'm going to assure you two things, though. One, you're going down. Two, you're not going to marry my daughter, so as much be with her ever again!"

The other just stood there for a few moments, then he folded his arms in front of his chest, Vegeta-style, and smirked. "We'll see about that."

**Advertisement:** Vegeta Goes to School by super-saiyan-monkey or SSM. Another torture-Gohan fic, with Vegeta as the lead star! What will happen to him and Gohan by the end of the day? Will Orange Star High School still be intact when dismissal comes?

**Next Chapter:** Yes, everyone. There is still a "next chapter", only because you asked. Although I won't be able to update often, since I'm going to be back in school really soon. :( Anyway, next up will be the greatest battle of all time! Gohan VS Mista Satan! And of course, the punishment for the boys will be revealed as well! So stay tuned! LOL


	12. The Verdict

**DRAGONBALL Z: IN THE EYES OF A CHILD  
**Chapter Eleven: The Verdict

  
People began to flock around the World Champion, and the teenager who defied him. They chattered amongst themselves excitedly, as they recognized the young man who stood in front of Mr. Satan confidently. After all, they were present during the Tenkaichi Budokai just recently, and in that special event, they saw the man behind the Great Saiyaman's... helmet. And he was standing in front of Mr. Satan at the moment.

"HOW DARE YOU---!" Mr. Satan roared as he lunged at Gohan, although all the demi-saiyajin had to do was hold the human by the forehead without even breaking a sweat. Stuck at his rather uncomfortable situation, the World Champion decided to do the next thing to fighting that he was best at.

Yelling.

"YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, SON GOHAN! YOU AND THOSE WORTHLESS FRIENDS OF YOURS! NOW LOOK AT MY DAUGHTER! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HER! THIS IS ALL YOUR BLASTED FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! JUST WAIT 'TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'M GOING TO---"

Gohan smirked, amused at his girlfriend's father who claimed to be the strongest warrior on Earth, when he obviously wasn't. "What are you going to do, Mr. Satan? You have the perfect opportunity to get your hands on me! Come on, try and get me! What are you waiting for?" he taunted as the other continued to lunge and tackle him but all the older man's efforts were in vain.

It took Mr. Satan some time to realize that his efforts were useless, and when he finally did so, he decided to trick the demi-saiyajin so he could take the chance to at least give the stubborn, obnoxious and rash teenager a bloody nose. He was about to begin his plan, when he noticed that cameras were all pointed to his direction, and he knew that he should give his fans a bit of a show.

"What are you going to do, just stand there? I thought you wanted to get your hands on me?"

He glared at the 18-year-old before he cleared his throat and began his speech, aimed to distract the demi-saiyajin who was pissing him off at the very moment. "Nevermind, Son Gohan. I don't want to waste my precious time on someone such as you. You won't even stand a chance against me, if I'll take you seriously. So I'll just leave you alone now," he said as he turned towards his daughter. "Videl, let's go."

"NO WAY!" Videl whined in defiance as she stomped her feet in anger. "I AM NOT GOING WITH YOU! I TOLD YOU, I'M GONNA MARRY GOHAN AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!" She then turned to Gohan, desperate not to get dragged away by her father and begged him silently with her eyes to do something about it.

Gohan stepped forward and cleared his throat in the process. "Excuse me, Mr. Satan, but did you say that I _don't stand a chance against you?_ I think that you are utterly mistaken. You don't know who you're challenging, _World Champion_. You don't know who you are trying to deal with."

Those words made the other angrier than ever, and he turned back to look at Gohan with fury in his eyes. "How dare you mock me?! Have you forgotten who _I_ am? I am the hero of this world, the courageous warrior who defeated Cell and put an end to Majin Buu!" he finished as the crowd cheered for him. However, to his annoyance, Gohan was laughing at him, as if he just told some really hilarious joke.

"YOU?! You defeated CELL and put an end to MAJIN BUU?!" Gohan asked before he burst into laughter once again. "Oh my... that's the best joke I heard in a while!" he commented as the people gave him strange looks. However, Mr. Satan's look was a murderous one, but that didn't stop Gohan from his spree. After all, HE, Son Gohan, was the warrior who defeated Cell, and helped in the defeat of Majin Buu. "Well, then, Mr. Satan. I'd like to see you try your _power_ on me. Why don't you punch me right on my face, and see if you could knock me out?"

That challenge caused the audience to stir, and they began cheering for their World Champion, their hero. However, Mr. Satan wasn't too happy about it. In fact, he began to panic. He KNEW that he could not knock the demi-saiyajin out no matter what technique he would use, and he KNEW that his fight with Gohan at the moment was broadcasted all over the place.

Gohan was grinning smugly at the dilemna the other was in, and to add pressure, he said, "What are you waiting for, Mr. Satan? Aren't you going to show everyone how strong you really are? Aren't you going to prove me wrong? Or are you too chicken to do so?"

The World Champion's fans roared in defiance, as they yelled back at Gohan that Mr. Satan was brave, courageous and most importantly, very powerful. And then they continued to cheer on their hero. Various comments were heard all over the place, comments about how Mr. Satan could beat Gohan with just one punch, comments on how the hero who beat Cell and Majin Buu won't break a sweat in fighting a nerd like Gohan. As the commotion grew and grew, the older man was left with no choice but to give it a shot.

He walked forward until he was right in front of Gohan, although he was trembling noticeably. In his last attempt to settle things without having to be embarassed, he told Gohan that he would leave him and Videl alone in exchange for not having to fight him, but the demi-saiyajin shook his head as he refused. "We're not going to fight, Mr. Satan. We're just going to exchange punches, that's all. You punch me, and I punch you back. Simple as that."

"D-do we h-have to... d-do this?" Mr. Satan asked in a stuttered manner, terrified at what might happen when the youngster would punch him back. He wanted to give Gohan the bloody nose, not the other way around. But at the situation he was in at the moment, he was very sure that if he would not be able to do something, HE would definitely get the bloody nose.

"Well, we don't really have to, if you don't want to. However, that would mean that you're actually afraid of someone like me," Gohan replied with a grin that enraged Mr. Satan even more, and that did it. Something snapped loose from the weakling, and without much thought, he sent his fist flying straight at Gohan's face.

Silence.

Everyone who was watching --- except Videl --- expected Gohan to fall limply to the ground right then and there. But it didn't happen. He did not budge, he just stood there, the older man's fist still on his face. It didn't take long for them to find out what really happened, though, for a second later, Mr. Satan's face was as red as a tomato as he jumped away from Gohan and the crowd, trying to stop himself from yelling and jumping in pain.

Then it was Gohan's turn. Slowly yet with sure steps, he made his way through the crowd and towards Mr. Satan, who was still suffering in pain at a corner. All eyes were on him, as everyone was startled that a _boy_ like him took the World Champion's punch --- and the punch didn't even hurt him. Everyone, that is, except Videl. She didn't bother to shut up when everyone else fell silent. Instead, she jumped and screamed from her spot as she cheered for her boyfriend, urging him to show the old man how strong he really was.

Mr. Satan was still curled up in a ball, trying to fight back the agonizing pain that spread from his fist, when a hand clamped on his shoulder. In shock, he jumped up and spun around to see the demi-saiyajin grinning wickedly at him. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but did not find the voice to do so. Without supressing his grin, Gohan took the other by the shirt and said, "It's my turn."

Blood drained from the man's face as he heard those three words. And from the excruciating pain he felt on his fist, he knew that, truly, this boy was powerful --- not because of his tricks, but he just really was --- and that he was undeniably the boy who defeated Cell seven years ago. As Gohan clamped his right hand to a fist, Mr. Satan knew that if he had one more chance to bargain for his life, it was now.

"N-no, please, d-don't h-hurt me!" he begged in such a pathetic manner that Gohan had to force back his laughs, although he could tell that the other was really very sincere --- and very scared. "I'm b-begging you, p-please! I'm s-sorry! I'm s-sorry i-if I insulted a-and underestimated you, S-son G-gohan! Y-you can m-marry my d-daughter now, if th-that is wh-what you w-want! Just d-don't h-hurt me!"

Gohan's lips curled into an even more wicked smile as he saw the _World Champion_ beg for his life. He never had such an amusing sight in ages, and he enjoyed every minute of it. Then an evil thought crawled to his mind, right then and there. With his hand, he can make Mr. Satan do ANYTHING, and there was no one who can stop him. Not unless Videl would snap out of her regression, which was very unlikely, because she was still cheering wildly for him at the moment.

When Mr. Satan saw Gohan lift up his clenched fist, he paled even more as he resumed begging for his life. It didn't seem to work, however, because in the next moment, Gohan's fist was right in front of Mr. Satan's face, ready to punch the daylight out of him. And that was enough of a threat. "NO, PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY IF I LIED TO THE WORLD! I'M SORRY IF I TOLD THEM THAT I DEFEATED MAJIN BUU WHEN I DIDN'T! I'M SORRY IF I TOLD EVERYONE THAT I DEFEATED CELL WHEN I DIDN'T! I'M SORRY IF I TOLD THEM THAT I DEFEATED CELL WHEN **YOU** DID!"

And it seemed as the world stopped. For the very moment the World Champion revealed the warrior who truly defeated Cell, he clamped his mouth shut, as if he tried to stop the words from escaping, but he was just too late. The demi-saiyajin, on the other hand, abruptly dropped the human to the ground as the older man's words got to him. Everyone else who was watching, including Videl, stopped short in shock upon the revelation. Their _hero_, their _World Champion_ was actually a fraud.

And there was no turning back. No turning back for Mr. Satan, after all, he just admitted in live television that he didn't defeat Cell and Buu and that he had been lying to EVERYONE for the past years. And most certainly no turning back for Gohan, who, aside from being the Great Saiyaman, was also the boy who defeated Cell, and his secret had been revealed. He looked around to see the bystander's reactions to the announcement, but found himself greatly disappointed. He could have escaped from the sudden exposé, but now it was too late. 

His expression betrayed it all.

"We have decided the appropriate punishment for all four of you," Chichi said in an authoratative tone as she waved IT around in warning. "Trunks, for kidnapping Videl; Goten, for helping Trunks get away with his crime; Vegeta, for bribing the kids do so something really dirty; and Goku, for not being Goten for the past SEVEN years and thus enabled him to snag a handful of evil genes from Vegeta and Trunks; this is your punishment."

_Oh no, she's not gonna let me play with Trunks anymore... this is bad... And she's gonna throw away all my pets and my toys... this is bad... and she's gonna let Squirt sleep outside without the comforts of a home... this is bad... and she's gonna make me study as much as Oniichan does... this is bad... and she won't let me have my candies... this is bad..._

_Grounded for a month --- no toys, no money, no hanging out, and no candies! And she's going to make me WORK! She's going to order me around and do stuff for her, when she isn't even my mother! I won't even get the chance to play with Goten anymore, because we'll both have to work, or get a gazillion lumps or so everyday! NO NO NO NO!_

_No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals... No Gravity Room... Cracker diet... No big meals..._

_No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food... No food..._

Bulma glanced at Chichi with a smirk. Despite the fact that Chichi said that her boys had _evil genes_, she was still pretty amused with the reactions they were getting at the moment. She gave out a nod, telling Chichi to give out the verdict before all four of them would break down in nervousness.

"You four are going to be Videl's slaves for a week."

"NANI?!" the saiyajins chorused in defiance, as they bolted up to disagree on the matter. However, all it took were four blows --- two from Bulma, two from Chichi --- and they slumped back silently into their seats as the two women stroked their frying pans lovingly.

However, even at the silence, they still had rebellious expressions on the faces. Vegeta's scowl was worse than ever; in fact, he looked like he wanted to kill both women as much as he wanted to kill Kakkarot. Trunks, on the other hand, had the scowl Vegeta used to have BEFORE their current predicament, while Goten was pouting like the way he did when he lost to Trunks in the Junior Division of the World Tournament. Goku was simply... frowning.

Chichi did not like the looks on their faces so she glared at them and growled, "DON'T GIVE ME THOSE LOOKS, BOYS!" She then paused to regain her composure, and when she managed to do so, she let out a smile. An evil smile, at that. "Now, either you be Videl's slaves... or be her slaves AND starve. Your call."


	13. A Bad Day for the Ouji

_Author's Note:_ FINALLY! I'm back with an update for this fic! I know it took forever, but I'm really sorry! School has been horrible, as well as writer's block, and both had been hindrances in updating this fanfic! My apologies to everyone! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and I would like to thank everyone in the DBZ Authors' Headquarters (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dbzahq) for their help and support. =P  
Please review!

**In the Eyes of a Child  
**Chapter Twelve: A Bad Day for the Ouji

  
"B-but mom! S-she can't g-go to s-school!"

Those were Gohan's last words before he was smacked by IT --- which was burning red-hot --- on that historic Monday morning in the lives of the saiyajins. Historic in the sense that the saiyajins who were all oh-so-full-of-pride were to work as slaves for some female human suffering from regression.

However, all the other saiyajins didn't seem to mind that task, because they were immediately hyped up when they found out that their _master_ was going to school, and it was their chance to drop by Gohan's school --- and perhaps, wreck havoc. 

Well... except the Saiyajin no Ouji, who was even grumpier than ever. He certainly did not like the idea that the Prince of such an almighty race would succumb to the bidding of some weakling. Vegeta had no choice, however, because Bulma was armed and ready to use IT on him if the need arises. So he simply obeyed both women even if it was totally against his will. 

But the presence of the saiyajins feared Gohan greatly, because they had the power to cause trouble and wreck his reputation in the process. School was most certainly not the place for aliens like Goku and Vegeta to hang out, and not most especially for the prank gods Trunks and Goten. Add a mind-ruined Videl to the unique crowd, and there was only one possible outcome.

_Boom! _Orange Star High School, gone.

As the image of his school exploding into tiny bits and pieces thanks to bright beams of light flashed in his mind, Gohan slapped himself hard on the forehead and groaned. The _more_ he groaned when Goten and Trunks passed by him and waved wildly in their hyperactiveness and desire to use their time to the fullest in the art of prank-making.

"They're the ones who are supposed to suffer, not me," Gohan grumbled with gritted teeth as he walked towards his classroom. "But it looks like it's now the other way around."

He stopped as he arrived at his classroom, and a yellow piece of paper neatly taped on the door caught his attention. He took the paper and his eyes narrowed as he read what was written on it. "Oh great. Just great, _just_ great. Interns are going to take over our classes for the whole week. Just my luck," he mumbled in exasperation as he threw the paper away and blasted it without even averting his angered eyes from the classroom door.

"So much for luck," he finished as he trudged towards his locker, took his books, and then headed for the auditorium, where the Principal was to give a short talk about the intern teachers. 

The future for him didn't just look bleak; it looked like he had no future at all.

Gohan pushed the door of the auditorium open to find no one. It made him look at his watch, and the more his curiousity grew when he realized that it was almost time for class to begin. Or the orientation, for that matter. He wanted to simply sit down and wait for the discussion to begin, but the warning bell at the back of his head was ringing wildly in a desperate attempt to warn him.

He turned around to leave the place, but before he could take a step forward, a horde of girls scrambled in the auditorium and towards him. At that very moment, Gohan panicked, but everything happened so fast that he didn't realize that trouble had befallen on him. He was now in the center of the chaotic nebula, being squeezed to death and smooched with kisses by all the girls.

And he had no idea why.

"What's going on here?!" he managed to ask in the midst of the commotion, trying to peel off a girl who was clinging fiercely on his arm. To his surprise, however, the girls chorused, "WE LOVE YOU, GOHAN! YOU BEAT CELL! WE LOVE YOU!"

He was petrified. He had totally forgotten that his battle with Mr. Satan --- where the latter revealed that it was the teenage boy who defeated the monster, Cell --- was broadcasted all over their place, revealing the secret he had attempted to keep for so long to billions of people.

_I am SO dead_, Gohan thought as he struggled to break free from the girls who were now crazy about him, but to no avail. He looked around, obviously very desperate. He wanted to get out of the mess he was now in badly, but he didn't know how. He wanted to just sit down and have the silence to comfort him, but he didn't know how. 

His mind listed a couple of possible things he could do, but they were an unapplicable. He could _not_ transform and knock the girls out --- Chichi was definitely going to kill him. He could _not_ throw the girls away, for they might slam against the wall and get hurt --- and Chichi would definitely kill him. 

_Desperate times call for desperate measures_, Gohan thought as he scanned the area for the last time for a way out, but still found nothing. He then shut his eyes, sending a silent prayer to Dende as he did so --- praying not to let the prank gods or Vegeta see what he was going to do (or what would happen next), to save himself from total embarassment.

When the prayer finished, he let himself fall limply to the ground, as if he fainted.

His plan worked, although his sensitive ears was hurt in the process as majority of the crowd screamed and shrieked in panic. A few, however, were composed enough to catch him and carry him to the back of the auditorium, to _wake him up_. Luckily for Gohan, Sharpner and Erasa came in that very moment, and they shooed everyone else away to take care of their friend.

As the girls walked away, Gohan fluttered his eyes open and when he was sure that he was safe, he sat up to face his rescuers.

"Nice trick, dude," Sharpner commented with a chuckle. "Although that trick will only work once. You can't go around _fainting_ all the time, can you? Well, Gohan, you should get used to the fact that girls will be hot on your tail from now on. You're famous now." 

Gohan glared at him for a few moments, as the thought that Videl's condition was due to Sharpner's recklessness crept up to his mind, but then he pushed it away. It was not the time to get mad, _not yet_, because the day ahead was still long, and a gazillion bad things were still bound to happen.

A shiver ran down his spine as the girls in Orange Star High School looked at him with much interest. With nervous eyes, he leaned back against his chair and asked, "What's taking our Principal so long? I want to get out of this place, away from those girls who are looking at me as if they want to strip off my clothes!"

Erasa looked around before she turned back to Gohan, shrugged and said, "I have no idea. But a more important question is, where's Videl? Spring break's over and she's supposed to be here."

Before Sharpner or Gohan could say anything in response, the auditorium door flew wide open, making everyone turn their eyes to the newcomers at the loud _thump_ the huge door made. Two little boys dressed in black --- except for their undershirts --- strode in the room with guns in their hands. 

_Toy_ guns in their hands. 

They both wore sunglasses and they posed as if they were the most superior beings in the universe. At the sight of them, Gohan rolled his eyes. _What are these two up to?!_ he thought wildly as he observed every move the so-called _prank gods_ made, and when the two grinned in his direction, he grimaced even more. He didn't want the two to cause trouble so he immediately bolted up and ordered, "Trunks, Goten, go home. This isn't the place for you."

The older of the two kids folded his arms in front of his chest and snorted in a Vegeta-ish manner. "You have no right to give us orders, mister, because you're not our master. Our master told us to prepare for her arrival in this blasted place, and we want to make sure that she will arrive here safely."

"They sure are strange bodyguards," Erasa commented as she looked at Sharpner, who nodded in agreement. She then turned to Gohan and said, "Just let them do what they want, Gohan. I mean, you know them, right? So you should know that they're just _adorable_ and _harmless_ little boys! Just let them be --- they're just kids, after all."

_They're NOT just kids_, Gohan wanted to say out loud, but he found himself unable to. Instead, he just ignored Erasa and sat back down on his chair as he prepared for the arrival of the pampered princess. _They're two VERY dangerous demi-saiyajins who can blast the world into a gazillion pieces if they simply want to do so._

Finally, the most awaited person of the crowd came. Orange Star High School's Principal, Mr. Eraishi Fuan. He was a short, skinny man who was around his forties --- whether he or Vegeta was taller, Gohan could not tell. Folders and papers were piled up in his arms as he walked towards the platform and began his speech.

"Spring break's over, so welcome back, students!" he began in his rather creaky voice. "Your classes this week, however, will be slightly different from your usual, because we have guests! They are interns and they are here to do some hands-on work on teaching! So let us welcome them with a round of applause!"

As the students applauded --- in a rather forced and uninterested manner --- eight humans entered the auditorium and walked towards the platform, apparently nervous and anxious at what was going to happen. At that, Mr. Fuan introduced them to the students one by one.

After sometime, the students trudged back to their respective classrooms with weary expressions. However, Videl was still nowhere in sight, just her _bodyguards_ who were still holding their guns with threatening faces. 

Mr. Fuan didn't seem to mind them, however, because it was as if he knew what exactly was going on. In fact, he even told the boys, "Keep an eye on Gohan, we don't want the kid who defeated Cell to get in trouble and stain his name."

However, the moment the Principal turned around, huge grins filled with evil occupied the two boys' faces. They were going to keep an eye on Gohan, but they were _not_ going to keep him out of trouble. They were going to get him _into_ trouble, and they were going to _stain_ his name.

At that, the chibis burst into villain-like laughter.

The thin young woman who stood before Gohan's class to teach them all about Mathematics cleared her throat before she began her introduction. Apparently, she was nervous. With a shy smile, she said, "Um... hello, everyone. I'm... Miyako Izuru, your teacher this week for Math. Just call me Miss Izuru. I will be teaching you the basics of Trigonometry, as well as Logarithms for the entire week. So I hope you'll bear with me because many find these lessons terrying."

_Trigonometry basics? Logarithms? Isn't there a lesson in Math that's worth paying attention to?! _Gohan thought rather exasperately, as he closed their book in Mathematics. He had learned so much in the past years he had been homeschooled that there was no need for him to listen to whatever was discussed by the teacher, whether she was the plump Mrs. Hanaya, or Ms. Izuru, the new teacher.

The door flew open in the midst of her introduction, however, and all eyes turned towards the doorway to once again see the boys in black. This time, however, two older men stood behind them, and Gohan knew that he was in for so much trouble. 

"Hi Gohan!" Goku waved as they entered the room, his eyes darting around inquisitively.

Gohan picked up his extra-thick Mathematics book, opened it right in the middle, and covered his face with it as he murmured, "Tousan, please!"

That comment made Erasa and Sharpner turn to him, full of questions. Before they could voice out their thoughts, an all-too-familiar voice and yet in a very unfamiliar tone greeted their eyes with, "Sorry I'm late! My bodyguards got lost, so I got lost as well!"

Their jaws dropped. "VIDEL?!"

The raven-haired girl jumped up and down and waved her arms widely as she exclaimed, "HI! HI! HI! HEY EVERYONE! I LOVED SPRING BREAK!"

"So the rumor's true, then. Videl is indeed suffering from regression," a boy who sat in the back part of the classroom said. The others nodded in reply, while the girls broke into their own private conversations. With _kid_ Videl as the topic, of course.

When the class finally quieted down, Ms. Izuru began her discussion. Half of the class was listening; half of the class wasn't. Included in the list of those weren't listening were Gohan, Sharpner, Erasa, Videl and the four saiyajins.

Sharpner and Erasa were too busy interrogating Gohan, with who was who, what indeed happened, and everything else. Videl was too busy exchanging jokes with Goku, while Trunks and Goten were busy plotting on how to ruin Gohan's reputation. The Saiyajin no Ouji, on the other hand, was plainly grumbling about how improper it was for the Prince of a race of warriors to serve a weakling.

"DAMNIT! I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE, UP AND ABOUT READY TO FULFILL THE COMMAND OF THAT BLASTED MATE OF BAKA KAKKAROT'S SPAWN!" Vegeta screamed in anger as he bolted up from his seat and was at the verge of transforming, sparks of electricity flying from his body.

The teacher, however, only looked up from her book and said in her usual calm tone, "Vegeta, take your seat."

The saiyajin fumed even more, ignoring Kakkarot who was waving his hands wildly in front of the his face, telling him to cool down. "WHO ARE YOU TO ORDER ME AROUND, WEAKLING?! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO GO AROUND TELLING ME WHAT TO DO AND BARK AT ME LIKE I'M SOME BLASTED SERVANT! I AM VEGETA, PRINCE OF THE SAIYAJINS, AND---"

"You will stand in the hall for the rest of the period," Ms. Izuru finished.

Vegeta's eyes flew wide open at that, and without thought, he flew towards the skinny young woman and took her by the collar of her uniform. Glaring daggers at her, he growled, "You will not order me around!"

"Out," Miyako ordered, her eyes meeting Vegeta's without fear.

"Do you want to die---"

She hardened her gaze. "Detention."

"Oh no you're not," Vegeta countered as he glared at her even more. "I will---"

"Suspension."

His hair turned bright yellow and his eyes turned green, and then, he began in anger, "Do I have to---"

"Do I have to make things hard for you, Vegeta? To stand in the hallway is a very easy thing to do, but no, you want to make it hard. I offered you detention, but you refused it. I offered you suspension instead, but you still refused it. What do you want, expulsion?"

Vegeta paled as his mate's words pounded in his head that very moment. Bulma told him earlier that if he was going to screw up his week as Videl's slave, then she would make him suffer even more than he was supposed to.

It meant no food, no Gravity Room, no food, no food, _no food_.

"I'll stand in the hall," the Ouji muttered in a barely audible voice as he powered down, put the teacher back on her feet, and walked away, grumbling about women and how the new generation was meant to doom all men.

Miyako, on the other hand, just straightened her clothes and resumed teaching the lesson at hand as if nothing happened.

The teenager who beat Cell, however, had a _very_ bad feeling about it.


	14. Step One of 'Mission: Torture Gohan' Acc...

_Author's Note:_ After a long time, I finally got rid of Writer's Block for this fanfic, and I'm back with an EXTRA-LONG CHAPTER! Well... it's not really THAT long, but it's the longest one I've ever written for this fanfic so far. Maybe I'm just overjoyed that midterms are over, ne?

Anyway, this chapter is pretty... wacky. I don't know what overcame me when I thought of what would happen in this chapter, maybe I took in too much sugar. *shrugs* And for those of you who are worrying about Videl and her condition, worry not! She'll be back to normal soon... although how soon that would be, I don't know. Maybe as soon as Vegeta stops causing trouble?

Oh well, enjoy! And please review!

**In the Eyes of a Child  
**Chapter Thirteen - Step One of _Mission: Torture Gohan_ Accomplished

  
Mathematics class was over before Gohan knew it, and as soon as the bell rang, he immediately rushed out of the room to check up on the Prince who was asked to stand in the hall early in the period. However, the moment he stepped out of their classroom, a bunch of girls who were now his official fans pulled him aside and asked for his autograph. 

"A little help here, anyone?!" Gohan exclaimed as his friends walked out, but they all chose to ignore the saiyajin stranded in the middle of obsessed girls as they proceeded to their next class. The demi-saiyajin then knew that he was the only one capable of saving himself, so he desperately tried to talk himself out of the situation. "Uh... girls... I'd love to do you a favor, but I'm... uh... very busy right now! I really have to go to my next class now, or I'm going to get detention for being late!"

"Then we'll go to detention too, so we can be with you, Gohan-kun!" they chorused in their high prissy voices as they battered their eyelashes at their _hero_ in a lovesick manner which made the teenager even more uncomfortable than ever.

"You have to understand, my mother is going to ground me for life if I do something unpleasant here in school! I don't want that to happen, and I'm sure you don't want that to happen as well! Now please, let me go through! I need to be in my next class in five minutes!"

A girl with pigtails pushed her face close to Gohan's, giving him the Puppy Eyes Look™, the look which was mastered by the demi-saiyajin's little brother, Goten. "But your next class is just three classrooms down this hall! You defeated Cell when you were 11 years old, I'm sure you'll be able to get there within a blink of an eye! Right, girls?"

"Uh-huh!" the Gohan-crazy lasses chorused, nodding their heads enthusiastically.

"Aw c'mon Gohan-kun! We just want you to give us your autograph! That won't take too much time, it'll be just for a few seconds! And for a hero like you, that won't take out even a little bit of your energy! Pleeeeeeease? We love you!"

The other girls begged for his signature soon after, clinging on to him desperately that he knew he had no way out. With a sigh, he agreed, and pieces of paper and pens were handed to him soon after. Gohan began signing them like crazy, at breakneck speed that made majority of the girls faint in admiration and the rest --- who were still conscious --- sigh dreamily.

After a few moments, it was over. He slumped against the wall, glad that his painstaking task was over, and that he could finally take a break and move away from the chicks who were crazy about him. The girls, on the other hand, giggled and squealed as they clutched the paper where Gohan signed to their chests and sighed, as if imagining a future with their _hero_.

Gohan pulled away, scared with the looks they had on their faces. Then, he turned around and ran, only to bump into Vegeta, who was still standing in the hallway with his arms crossed arrogantly in front of his chest. Quickly, the demi-saiyajin apologized, and as he looked around the area where the Ouji was standing, he let out a gasp.

"Nani?! What is it, baka spawn of Kakkarot?!"

Goku's son looked at him, eyes wide in disbelief. "Nothing on the walls... no dents... no holes... Nothing at all... You didn't... use... ki-blasts..." his voice trailed off as he touched the walls, still not believing his eyes. "I can't believe it... you didn't blast the people here..."

It made Vegeta snort, but he did not say anything in response. He just stood there, slumped against the wall, with his eyes shut in a peaceful, reposed manner --- which greatly surprised Gohan. The older saiyajin did not only refrain from blasting people to oblivion, he remained in the hallway even if his punishment was over, as behaved as he could be.

Then, Gohan saw it. A part of Vegeta's lip twitched, and formed into a barely noticeable smirk.

He backed off, suddenly frightened. _What's Vegeta up to?! I... I don't like the looks of this, not at all. He has something planned, I just don't know what it is. I... I better get out of here before anything else happens to me... Damn this just isn't my day..._

"And where do you think you're going, brat?"

Gohan stopped, and swallowed. "To my... uh... next class?" he replied rather nervously, beads of sweat trickling down his face as he looked at the Saiyajin no Ouji who stood there as if nothing happened to him, as if nothing was going on. He was so quiet, it was scary.

It was then when Vegeta opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow at the teenager. "And you're leaving without me? You seem to have forgotten, brat. I am under the command of that blasted _mate_ of yours who is in the same class as you baka weaklings are and who needs to get some sense knocked into her thick skull through a series of ki-blasts and there's nothing I can do but obey that baka onna or I'm going to degrade myself even more in front of that onna Bulma and deprive myself of the royal priveledges!" He paused to take a deep breath. "Kuso! I'm not supposed to be here! I'm supposed to be in the Gravity Room, training so I can finally punch the daylights out of your baka father who is nothing but a third-class saiyajin named Kakkarot who has a stupid excuse for living in this mudball of a planet! Saving the world, bah!"

The other did not hear the rest of the Ouji's rant, however, for the word _mate_ hit him like a punch straight in the face by anyone stronger than him would. Blushing furiously, Gohan countered, "VIDEL'S NOT MY MATE!" 

Everyone who was passing by at that time stopped and stared at Gohan, who was in a deep shade of red because of the older man's words. Vegeta, on the other hand, just smirked and turned to leave, but upon noticing that Gohan was not budging, he stopped, rolling his eyes. "You coming or what?!" he barked, not even turning his eyes to the person he was talking to, the arrogant look still on his features.

At that, Gohan scowled --- something which he rarely did, something which surprised Vegeta --- then he spun around to go with the Ouji to their _next class_, Home Economics. It was _not_ Gohan's favorite subject --- it had never been and it will never be --- and the week's lessons were to be taught by a certain Yui Chosha who was rumored to talk as much as Erasa in an annoying, prissy voice. 

The demi-saiyajin scowl deepened at that thought; the more when they arrived in the classroom, for what he saw made him want to disappear into thin air in utter embarrassment. The Chibis of Terror™ were guarding the doorway, still holding their guns as if they were professional secret agents; the third class saiyajin warrior Kakkarot was once again demonstrating his stupidity as he toyed around with the cooking equipment as if he had never seen them in his entire life; while Gohan's supposed _mate_ was in the middle of the classroom, bouncing from one armchair to another, dancing and singing like there was no tomorrow.

The scene was very amusing and very entertaining for the weaklings, yes, but it was just too much for the saiyajins. In fact, it was too horrifying that the teenager who defeated Cell when he was 11 years old sent a silent prayer to Dende so as not to let the people around him realize that he was actually _related_ to the unusual bunch.

The Prince, on the other hand, just shook his head.

"Well? We're not just going to stand here and look at them the whole day, are we?" Vegeta asked the demi-saiyajin with an eyebrow raised, which diverted Gohan's attention to the older man. He was surprised not because of the cold and sharp tone the other used --- after all, he was used to it --- but he was surprised at how _interested_ Vegeta was. He was no longer yelling, bellowing, screaming, whining, complaining, or anything of that sort.

Before Gohan could reply, however, they were interrupted by the arrival of the principal of Orange Star High School, Eraishi Fuan, who summoned Vegeta for a private conversation at his office. The matter seemed serious, however, for the human had an angry look on his features, an expression he was attempting to supress as he called on the husband of Bulma Briefs for a conference of sorts.

Upon seeing the younger saiyajin's questioning look, the Ouji just shrugged, and then he followed Eraishi to wherever his office was coolly, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants casually --- without a word, without asking questions, without yelling, without complaining.

Shortly after Vegeta's departure, the bell rang, signalling the start of the class. Gohan took the deepest breath he could ever muster before he stepped into the Home Economics classroom, glancing uneasily at the others who were already in the room even before the bell cried out the beginning of the next subject and who had seen the antics of the members of the hero's family. To his relief, they did not seem to notice that he was actually part of the group, and the only gazes he received were those from the girls huddled at the back of the classroom, the girls who whispered excitedly amongst themselves and were staring dreamily at him, fluttering their eyelashes in a flirtatious manner as they did so.

In return, he scowled.

"Is this the world they call... Chikyuu-sei?"

A tall man with a muscular build, wild ebony hair and equally dark eyes nodded as he stared at the ball of blue and green which appeared on their monitor, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Yes, this is it. Chikyuu-sei," he announced as a smirk curled up on his features. "And the time has come for us to claim the world which is rightfully ours."

Standing beside him was a man clad in dark brown robes, and he was holding a book of sorts close to him, as if it was the most precious thing in the universe. He was short, and it was very clear as he flanked beside the one who was practically in charge of the group, but his hair that seemed to stand up vertically made him look taller that he truly was. "Do not let your thirst for revenge cloud your thoughts, oh great one. Anger and hate will only upset the gods who are patiently watching over us."

"Worry not. We shall live in peace with these... _weaklings_."

The robed man's raven eyes shifted to their commander, and then, he bowed. "May the gods bless you, oh great one. I will pray for the violence-free and bloodshed-free completion of your mission, and for your safety as well as that of our people," he said as he waved his hand in some strange manner. "With my benediction I send you the blessings of the gods."

The smile on their leader's features widened. "The blessings of the gods, indeed," he blurted out in agreement as he fixed up the gallant armor that covered him, the armor that would protect him from whatever was going to be hurled at him in the world below. Then, he picked up his comlink and called for the other two members of his so-called _peace force_.

A little boy around seven years of age appeared first, and we was refilling a plasma gun of sorts with a new cartridge as he arrived and bowed before their leader. He was wearing a white robe similar to that of a scientist back in Earth, and thick eyeglasses covered his dark eyes that was noticeably similar to that of the older fighter. "Oniichan will be here shortly. Has the time come?"

"Yes, it is time," the other simply replied.

He locked the cartridge, examined the gun, and smiled. "Then let us begin," he muttered as an evil smirk similar to that of his father's curled up on his lips, then, the father-and-son tandem laughed at the scent of their upcoming victory.

The high priest, on the other hand, just looked at the two and shook his head, hoping that the gods would forgive them for whatever sins they would commit on the world below.

_Of all people in this class, I just had to get stuck with THEM! There are many others who I could be grouped with, they are not the only four people, but NO, I have to stay with them for this activity and for the entire period! Dende, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MAKE YOU DESPISE ME SO?! I SAVED THE WORLD, DIDN'T I?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?!_

"Son, the ladle's melting," Goku pointed out helpfully as the metal in Gohan's hand was melting due to the energy he was emitting. He was mad, _very_ mad, although he was trying his best not to show it, and most especially not to show his super saiyajin form. However, the ki radiating from his body was enough to make the metal ladle melt, and if he would not be careful, the other metal equipment would melt as well.

An exasperated sigh escaped the younger saiyajin's lips, and then, he dumped liquid which was once metal into the garbage bin. Afterwards, he held out his left hand and said, "Ladle."

A brand-new metal ladle was dumped into his outstretched hand, and at that, he resumed mixing what they had placed in the bowl. He continued to ask for the ingredients that were to be added into the mixture, and finally, he came to the part when he was to ask for sugar. He waited for a cup of sugar to be placed on his palm, but moments passed and nothing came.

"Sugar," Gohan repeated, stronger this time, but still, nothing happened. And one more time, he tried. "Sugar, PLEASE?!"

When nothing came, his face turned red in anger, then he turned his head to see where the chibis had gone off --- and he found the sugar sack empty, the crystal sugars all over the floor. Sitting on top of the now-empty sack were Goten, Trunks and Videl, covered with sugar from head to foot, and they continued to lick the sugar that were stuck in their hands with expressions of utter glee and amusement.

With that, Gohan took the children by the collar of their shirts, shaking them both threateningly as he knew that they were the ones who thought of raiding the sugar sack in the first place, but because of Goku's interruption the chibis were spared from the wrath of the saiyajin gone mad. The teenager did not enjoy his father's interference, however, so he asked the older man to just beat the eggs while he would deal with the troublemakers _in a calm way_.

"I promise not to kill them, Otousan," Gohan added assuringly as he glared at the demi-saiyajins.

Goku just nodded, then he went back to the table and took four eggs, as they needed as much as those for their recipe. He then face-vaulted. _How do I..._ he began, wondering how he was supposed to do what he was requested.

After a few minutes of standing quietly and staring at the eggs, he got it. _That wouldn't be too hard to do!_ the saiyajin thought to himself excitedly as he smiled, put the rest of the cooking equipment away --- including the bowl which contained their precious mixture --- and placed the eggs in the middle of table.

Then, he dropped into a fighting stance. "Let's start the fight! Come on, eggs! Fight me!" he exclaimed as he motioned the eggs to attack him with his right hand, as he had always done to intimidate Vegeta. However, the confused look was back on his features a few moments after, because of the fact that the eggs were not moving at all.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to fight me?" Goku asked in a disappointed tone as he dropped out of his fighting stance and moved towards the eggs. He lifted them one by one, checking for whatever was wrong, and when his examination was done, he put them back, his confused look still intact. "I still don't get it. There's nothing wrong with you, right? Your shells aren't broken, you aren't ki-deprived... why don't you want to fight me? Come on, eggs, let's fight so we can get this done!"

The eggs still did not move, and that was when the saiyajin dropped on his knees. "Please, eggs? Please?" he begged, looking at the oval-shaped cooking ingredients with puppy eyes, his hands clasped together as if he was praying. "I'm begging you, eggs. Please do me this favor. I promise, if you fight me, I will never beat you again!"

Then tears formed in Goku's eyes. "I'M BEGGING YOU! FOR THE LOVE OF MY SON, GOHAN, PLEASE FIGHT ME AND LET ME BEAT YOU! I PROMISE I WON'T DO IT AGAIN, I SWEAR! JUST THIS ONCE, JUST THIS ONCE!"

"OTOUSAN!"

He turned his head to the side slightly to see Gohan, his tears streaking down his eyes. Upon seeing his son's angry expression, he hung his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, son... I wanted to help you... I did everything I could to beat the eggs... But they wouldn't fight me, and it's unfair to beat an opponent who isn't even putting up a fight... I'm so sorry..."

Gohan slapped himself on the forehead. How dense could his father get?

He sighed, a sigh even heavier than all his sighs put together for that day, then turned to Goku and said in a forced calm tone, "Dad. You're not supposed to beat the eggs that way. You're supposed to---" 

The demi-saiyajin was cut off as they heard a loud scream, apparently from the principal's office and the voice definitely belonged to Mr. Fuan. Then, dead silence took over. No one in the classroom dared to move, no one dared to flex a muscle --- some were even too frightened to breathe --- and that went for everyone in the campus.

Then it hit them.

Without a word, Gohan rushed out of the Home Economics room, followed closely by Goku and the sugar-covered troublemakers Trunks and Goten, who were hovering a few inches above the ground as they carried a half-full sugar sack with them. Videl, too, ran after the four thenafter, although she was merely after the sugar the children took. The chibis apparently didn't care --- Videl included --- but the other two saiyajins were worried and angry.

Goku was worried; Gohan was angry.

_What has Vegeta gotten himself into this time?!_ the teenager thought in exasperation as he continued to make his way towards the principal's office, the other three warriors following his lead. They could have just tracked Vegeta down, but his ki was mysteriously supressed to that of human level, so they had to follow wherever Gohan was going.

On the other hand, the saiyajin was taking deep breaths to calm himself down, although he knew that he would NEVER be calmed down unless the week was over with. He was stuck in school for a whole week with his father, his father's rival, his brother, his brother's best friend, stupid interns and a regressed girlfriend.

It was NOT good.

Upon seeing the sign _Mr. Eraishi Fuan, Principal_, on the door, Gohan immediately pushed it open, and his eyes widened significantly at the sight. His companions had the same reaction as well, even those curious ones who had followed the group to check on what just happened.

Nothing appeared to be wrong in the office. It was neat and clean, just as Mr. Fuan had always kept it. Papers were neatly stacked in the filing cabinets, documents were properly filed in their respective places --- everything appeared _almost_ perfect. However, there was one component that ruined the entire scene, a component that simply did not belong. It wasn't a piece of paper on the floor, it wasn't a shard of broken glass, it wasn't a hole in the wall made by the Ouji's ki-blast.

It was the Saiyajin no Ouji Vegeta himself, sitting on Mr. Fuan's comfortable reclining chair, cracking his knuckles arrogantly with a smirk on his pale features --- and the bright gold insignia _Principal_ fastened to his shirt.


	15. Author's Note: Shameless Request

I'm sorry if there's no new chapter, but I'm here to ask you guys a favor. *swallows nervously* You see, I submitted this fanfic as an entry for the Sennenki Dragon Ball Fanfiction Contest, and the voting is already taking place. If it wouldn't be much of a bother... please vote for it? *puppy eyes*  
  
http://www.gokugirl.com/contest/02_voting.html  
  
Also, if it won't be a bother, please vote for my other entry, "Fueled by Anger, Driven by Despair" in the Angst category. And if it still won't be a bother to you, please vote for my friend's entry in the Horror category, "Shades of Danger" by VegetaGokuLover.  
  
If I win... I promise an update! A HUGE update! Maybe a two or three chapter update! Please vote for me? Please? Onegai? Por favor? *goes down on both knees and begs with puppy eyes*  
  
Arigatou gozaimasu minna! 


	16. Right Plan, Wrong Move

_Author's Note:_ I know, I haven't updated in like forever, and I'm really sorry for that! School kept me busy, and the worst thing of all was the apparent lack of inspiration. I'm so so sorry! *bows apologetically over and over* But anyway, here I am with the double-chapter update I promised! I hope you'll all enjoy!

**In the Eyes of a Child**  
Chapter Fourteen: _Right Plan, Wrong Move_

"Vegeta!" Gohan gasped, his eyes wide in disbelief. "What in the world are you doing?!"

The Saiyajin no Ouji only smirked, his eyes flashing dangerously as he rose up in an authoritative, dignified stance. "What does it look like I'm doing, brat?" he began coolly, his voice oozing with the tone of superiority once again. He then bent forward to sneer at the young man. "And watch your mouth. I can expell you before you can say _Kamehameha_."

At that, the saiyajin walked out of his office, his chin up high in a manner even more arrogant than ever, leaving Gohan stunned beyond belief. He followed Vegeta silently with his eyes, a greater part of him refusing to accept what had just happened.

Vegeta had taken over Orange Star High School.

"Great, just great. A perfect addition to my doomed week," he muttered angrily to himself, his eyes narrowing significantly. Realizing that the _real_ Principal was missing, he began searching for the unfortunate human all throughout the room, ignoring the chaos that was beginning to brew outside. After sometime, he finally found the man, unconscious behind the tall pile of boxes at the northwest corner of the office.

Sighing, he lifted Mr. Fuan off the dusty floor and laid him gently on the table, hoping that he would not recover until Vegeta would be off the school grounds to avoid any more trouble. However, his hopes were in vain, for as he turned around to leave, a hand grabbed his arm. The hand belonged to Mr. Fuan.

"What... happened?" the dazed Principal began, holding on to Gohan tightly for support, and for him to be able to sit up. He was pale, he was sweating, and he did not look good at all. "Where... is... that... Mr. Briefs..?"

"He just walked out of this office with your insignia pinned on to his shirt, Mr. Fuan," the demi-saiyajin replied, trying to keep his calm. "And he has taken over the school, I believe. What truly happened, sir? May I know about it?"

He never had the chance to hear the other's reply, however, for the school bell suddenly rang in dismissal. Gohan's gaze darkened; it only meant Vegeta was letting the students loose. Before he could think of what to say to the still dazed Principal, an awfully familiar voice boomed from the speakers all over the campus.

_"Brats! To the auditorium, NOW! Or I'm going to expell all of you before you can say---"_

The speaker in the office exploded.

"My deepest apologies for that, Mr. Fuan, but it was something I could not help but do. I promise I'm going to have a replacement as soon as all this comes to an end. I have to go now, sir; there are important matters I have to take care of at the moment," Gohan said with a slight bow before he stalked out of the room, his face a mask of anger, leaving an extremely stunned man behind.

"You see, Hiroshi, sound waves are much easier to comprehend than light waves, personally speaking. Have you ever heard stories about famous scientists debating about them? I don't think so. I mean, when you think or hear of light waves, not only do the different definitions of the different scientists --- Plato, Newton, Planck and Maxwell, to mention --- come up, the still unresolved argument remains: is light a wave or a particle?"

"Which is the reason why it should be the topic for our thesis," the student named Hiroshi replied, leaning back against his chair lazily. "Think about it. We have the background information that we already need, and we can even use the argument about light being a wave or particle for the whole project. All we have to do after is to prove one of the many points those scientists gave out... somehow."

His seatmate looked at him quizzically. "That's pretty ambitious."

"I know, but we gotta lift our standards to move onward in the field of science and technology," he blurted out, straightening up to address his friend. "Where's Gohan anyway? He's supposed to be the leader of our group. I'm just the spokesperson."

"With his friends," the girl who spoke earlier, a blue-eyed teen by the name of Aira, plopped back into the conversation. She then pushed her glasses closer to her face, and lowered her voice by a couple of decibels. "His friends are a little out of it, don't you think? They're pretty weird if you ask me... although his brother is simply adorable! I can't wait for him to grow up! He's going to be one hot hunk!"

"Unless he turns out to be a geek like his brother."

"But Gohan's a very cute geek!" a girl from behind them interrupted, pushing her face close to them to join in their little forum. She was a plump young woman with pinkish features, and she had the hyperactiveness of a six-year-old. "And besides, his brother seems different. I can tell. Oh, and did you notice? Vegeta has a gorgeous ass!"

The huddle of girls just behind them sniggered evidently.

"I don't mind if they're a little out of it," she continued, ignoring the looks the others gave her for butting into their conversation when she wasn't invited to. "After all, they've got something to make up for it. Hey, the purple-haired kid is the heir of Capsule Corporation, right? If so... man, I can't believe the connections Gohan has! He knows someone from the Briefs clan on a first-name basis!"

"But then again, he's the kid who defeated Cell. We shouldn't be surprised at those little things," Hiroshi said knowingly, interested at the sudden turn of the conversation. After all, Gohan was a very interesting person to talk about, due to his mysterious nature. "For all we know, he could be an evil alien who forgot that he was supposed to take over the world."

"Why are we here anyway?!" the same girl complained, crossing her arms in front of her chest in an annoyed fashion. "Aren't we supposed to be dismissed for lunch anyway? That Principal Fuan --- I mean, look at the time! We're going to have ulcer at this development! What's the use of this stupid gathering---"

"Stupid gathering, brat?"

They all fell silent as they saw the Saiyajin no Ouji on the podium with a fierce glare on his pale, handsome features. The silence did not last long, however, for they heard a loud, "He's so hot, isn't he?!" followed by insane-sounding giggles from the back portion of the crowd. The glare on the saiyajin intensified even more at that, as he resisted the terrible urge to blast the pathetic humans into the next dimension.

He stayed on his place, his arms crossed in front of his chest. It took him quite a while to get rid of the glare he had on his face, and replace it with a knowing smirk. "I don't give a damn if you're listening or not, but talk while I'm talking and I'm going to blast you to the next dimension is smithereens! Am I clear?!" He didn't even wait for them to respond. "Good! Now let's get straight to the point of this entire meeting, I'm sick and tired of seeing you pathetic creatures..."

"Vegeta, what in the world do you think you're doing?!" a voice boomed into the premises, and all eyes snapped towards the doorway to see Gohan, the usually calm and smiling geek of Orange Star High School, storming in angrily with a murderous look on his face. "Stop this insanity this instant, and apologize to everyone for causing such a riot!"

"You want me to stop?" At that, Vegeta's voice dropped into a very sarcastic tone. "You don't know what you'll be denying them, brat. Oh, this is awful. I was just going to announce that as Principal I am suspending classes for the rest of the year and the years to come..."

Silence.

"No more classes?" one student managed to choke out despite of the shock.

"For the rest of the year?"

"And the years to come?"

The saiyajin nodded. "As long as I'm Principal." Then his expression turned into a sad, miserable one, although it was obviously superficial. However, it was only Gohan who could tell that it was actually superficial. "But the brat wants me to step down, and I'm afraid I would have to do so. I'm sorry to disappoint all of you..."

... _stupid humans_, he finished silently. 

And like a supernova at the peak of its life, an explosion occured --- an explosion of annoyed murmurs, threatening shouts, and angry yells directed primarily to the demi-saiyajin who wanted to stop what was supposed to be the best thing yet in the history of Orange Star High School. Gohan backed off slightly, but he continued to argue. "You don't understand... Vegeta's---"

"The best Principal ever!" his classmate screamed to the top of her lungs. And when that statement left her, the crowd burst into another round of noise explosion, this time, for their new Principal. Gohan's words were drowned by the overjoyed cheers, delighted murmurs, and joyous screams that filled the auditorium to its extent.

Vegeta looked at Gohan, and beamed. "I win."

The demi-saiyajin glared in response, but he knew that there was no way he could overpower the rest of the student population. _I'm doomed_, he thought grimly, then he clamped his fists angrily. _Dende is behind all of this, I'm sure of it! I swear, god or no god, I'm going to kill him! Someday I will, I'm going to make sure of that!_

That was when someone from the crowd --- the _quiet_ part of the crowd --- stood up to address the new Principal. "Excuse me, sir, but what'll happen to us? We're graduating this year, supposedly, and if we won't have classes, what will we get for our grades?"

A smirk appeared on Vegeta's face as he locked gazes with the human. "To hell with your grades."

"I object!" Seki Nozomi, one of the interns, shouted from behind. He then rose to confront the saiyajin, his emerald orbs burning fiercely in disagreement. "How will we able to get our marks for our practicum if we won't be able to teach? This cannot be! Classes must go on!"

At that, those concerned about their grades and everything else related to that began their protest, complaining about the Saiyajin no Ouji's decision. Those in the honor roll wanted to get medals desperately, they volunteered to go to school even if they'll be the only students. The graduating students seconded the suggestion without hesitation, while the interns, wanting to get over their week of hell, agreed to teach those who wanted to remain in school.

"Fine!" the Prince gave in, then he pointed at Gohan with narrowed eyes. "You, your classmates, and those who want to stay will stay! And for those who want to go home, go home!" he yelled in an extremely annoyed fashion before he turned around to leave. He was unable to leave, however, for a horde of students rushed to him, praising and thanking him for his goodness.

After a while, the crowd dispersed, and only a few were left --- including Gohan's classmates who were sitting down angrily. "I can't believe this happened to us!" Sharpner blurted out loud, irritation lining his features. "We were so close to that freedom, and then because of these dorks we have to stay here and get on with classes! Gee, thanks a lot."

Gohan scowled in response, then he turned around to approach the older saiyajin, who was leaving the area at that time. "Hey Vegeta, where are you going?" he called out coolly, transforming his frown into a smirk as the other spun around to face him. "You said that my classmates and I have to stay for classes. Videl's my classmate. You're her slave, even if you're Principal. Get the picture?"

The Saiyajin no Ouji paled evidently before he let out a frustrated scream.


	17. The Evidence of a Reality

**In the Eyes of a Child**  
Chapter Fifteen: _The Evidence of a Reality_

"We need information, and we need _precise_ information. We want to know how strong these saiyajins truly are, and what we have to bear in mind when we get in battle with them. In short, you need to know as much about them as possible. Strengths, weaknesses, everything. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

The short black-haired kid, who was wearing a scientist's white robe, handed each of them a small yet smart-looking device. "You have to store the information you have gathered here. These will process the data, whatever form it will take, and transmit that encoded data to us. We will then decipher it once it comes into the main computer, so if ever it will get into enemy hands, what we know won't be exposed."

"And go with the blessings of the gods," the priest added as some sort of an afterthought. "They will be the primary keys to our success, so pray to them regularly and with much faith. They will keep you safe if you call on them. And bear in mind the words we were advised to ponder on since time immemorial, the battlecry that we were taught ever since we came to life..."

"_Tnod yrc revo tlips klim_," they chorused with a bow, before they all erupted into a two-minute prayer session that involved a lot of chanting, bowing, and floor-kissing. When it was all over, the two spies straightened themselves and saluted. "Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world! Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world! Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world, yes bay-bee! Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world!"

They went on with their little song until they stepped out of the ship's bridge, the door clamping shut as they did so. The genius among the alien invaders, who had seen them leave and bring their crazy antics along with them, shook his head in disapproval. He then turned to the priest and said, "Purple has never been a color favored by the gods. Let's pray that the situation will change for the better, this time."

"I refuse to put up with this! I swear, brat, I am going to---"

Trunks and Goten stuck their guns to Vegeta's sides and smirked in an almost too-synchronized fashion. The older of the two then raised his voice to address his master, who was walking in front of them with her arm locked on Gohan's own. "What are we going to do with him, Sir Boss?"

At that, Videl whirled around to face them. "Naughty, Vegeta. Naughty, naughty slave. You should obey me at all times, and don't complain! Whether you like it or not!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot as she did so. She then smiled. "Come, we go... ooooooh lookit that! That classroom's sooooooooooooo nice! What subject do we have next, Gohan-kun?"

"Physics," Gohan replied nonchalantly. Despite the fact that he managed to trap Vegeta inside the one the Saiyajin no Ouji built himself, he was still irritated by the turn of events. He still had a long way to go before the terror would be over... _if_ it would be over in the first place.

"What's _Physics_, Gohan-kun?"

"Physics is a fundamental science that deals primarily with the basic laws of nature, as well as the study of matter, energy, and their relationship. It is generally divided into two broad areas: classical and modern. Classical Physics includes mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, light and sound waves, and optics. Modern Physics includes atomic and nuclear Physics," the demi-saiyajin recited, as if he memorized the contents of their book inside-out. In fact, he seemed to have memorized the contents of their book inside-out.

"A funda--- what?"

Gohan sighed heavily as the walked on, the rest of Videl's slaves marching behind them. "Fundamental science," he answered, shaking his head. The last time they had Physics class, Videl got full marks along with him. Now, she barely knew what the subject was all about. He thought of Sharpner again, and wanted to blame him very much, but he knew that it was pointless to do so.

The voice of his companion returned with an, "Oh." After a long pause, she asked, "What's that?"

"Nevermind."

"Today, we will talk about basic electronics," Mr. Nozomi began in an excited tone. He was obviously eager to teach the topic for the entire two-hour span of the said period. "So before we move on to the more complicated matters, like logic gates, we will first discuss the various terms that we will be referring to time and again. Now, who can tell me what a semiconductor is?"

Hands shot into the air, but he ignored them all as he went on with what he was talking about, completely forgetting that he asked the class about it in the first place. "A semiconductor is an element with four electrons in its outermost shell, like silicon and germanium. They are of four types, junctions included. First, there is the N-Type Semiconductor, wherein the semiconductor is mixed with a small amount of five-electron impurity. Meaning, the element is bonded with another element that has five electrons in its outer shell, thus creating extra electrons that wander around freely."

Gohan yawned as he leaned back into his seat. _Too easy._

"The next type is the P-Type Semiconductor, wherein the impurity is the three-electron type. It has no free electron. Instead, it has a hole since the element the base element is bonded with has only three electrons, and the outer shell of an element holds eight electrons at maximum. Then there is the junction of the two types, and it, too, is of two types. The first junction is from P to N, while the second is from N to P. The second type produces a one-way current," their teacher continued to babble.

Most of the students were taking down notes; in fact, all of them were taking down notes except Gohan. His book was spread open, so was his notebook, but he was barely paying attention to what was going on. He was busy plotting his revenge on Dende --- if ever he would be given the chance to do so, that is.

"Diode means two-electrode, as it has a positive electrode or anode, and a negative electrode or cathode. It allows the passage of electrons in only one direction, like an on/off switch. It is of three types --- rectifiers, used to convert alternating current to direct current; detectors, used to separate information from transmitted radio signals or carrier waves; and light emitting diodes, used as indicator lamps in electronic devices," Mr. Nozomi droned on. "Next, we have the transistor. It looks like two diodes joined back to back, with three regions: the collector, the emitter, and the base. We also have what we call resistors, which are used to establish correct current and voltage levels throughout the---"

"This is so boring!" one of the graduating students blurted out all of a sudden, throwing his pen away in annoyance. "Come on, sir, I'm sure there's something else more interesting for us to talk about, not just these stupid electronic rif-raff!"

"I'm open to _more interesting_ suggestions," the teacher countered coolly, rather cockily.

A girl raised her hand and asked politely, "How about Einstein's Theory of Relativity, sir?"

"Or electricity and magnetism?"

Suggestions then began pouring in, but none seemed to interest the teacher and the rest of the class. In no time, an argument started, which eventually led to even more arguments, and in turn led to more and more arguments. However, there was one suggestion that captured everyone's attention, including Gohan, who was almost asleep at that time. "What about time traveling?"

The term rang a bell in the saiyajins' heads, for all of them immediately thought of Mirai Trunks as soon as it was mentioned. After all, Vegeta's son from the future saved their lives by traveling through time to warn them and fight by their side. This time, however, a sense of dread that made the hair at the back of Gohan's neck stand crept through the demi-saiyajin upon realizing what had just been said.

"Ooooooh, time traveling! Nobody's ever done that yet, right?"

"That would be awesome!"

"Just imagine if we can visit places we haven't been to before because they don't exist anymore! That's going to be so much fun!" Hiroshi exclaimed from his seat in the second row. "We can go all the way back to Ancient Greece or Rome, or Ancient China --- just about anywhere, really!"

The chubby girl who was talking loudly at the auditorium squealed in the loudest voice she could muster, "I wanna see Gohan's battle with Cell!" That statement alone gained a lot of comments from her classmates and schoolmates --- and caused Gohan to sink back into his seat, his face turning a deep shade of red.

"Me too!"

"Me three!" Videl chimed in happily, bouncing up and down on her seat.

Her seatmate, however, was evidently annoyed by her childish reaction, and so he snapped at her, with sharp cerulean eyes that were so unlike the young woman's. "Shut up, Videl!"

She cried.

Gohan immediately bolted up and rushed to his girlfriend's side, desperate to calm her down and avoid any more trouble. He did his best to ignore the looks he was getting, despite the fact that he was getting uncomfortable by the moment. "Now, now, Videl, I'm sure he didn't mean that," he began softly, holding her as comfortably as he could. "Hush now, please."

"All right, all right," Nozomi-sensei said, clapping his hands to divert their attention back to him. "All of you, split up into three groups, and in half an hour, report whatever you know about time traveling. Winners get an automatic A for their finals."

Almost everyone rushed to Gohan.

It took a while for all the groups to be established, since most of the students wanted to be with Gohan even when it was simply not possible. Busy with the reports they were preparing, they did not notice the troublemaking duo, Trunks and Goten, sneak out of the classroom to work on the next step in _Mission: Torture Gohan_.

"Time traveling? Perfect..." Trunks whispered with a mischievous glimmer in his sapphire eyes.

They were about to board the metal craft that would take them to the surface of the planet called Chikyuu-sei when the younger of the two alien spies dropped to his knees and started another round of chanting, bowing, and floor-kissing.

"What are you doing?!"

He looked up and held a finger close to his lips, telling his superior to be quiet in an offhand way. "Praying," he whispered in reply, before he threw himself down to the floor once again to offer another prayer to the gods that they served and worshipped.

The other alien looked annoyed. "Not now, dummy!" he whispered back, irritation clear as day. "We have a mission to accomplish, and we have to accomplish it quickly! We have no time to lose, so be done with that and get up!"

The younger one looked offended, but he stood up, nonetheless. However, as soon as he was back on his feet, he protested, "But didn't the High Priest tell us to pray regularly?" 

"You're all talking about theories, and theories will get you nowhere," Trunks announced in a very confident tone as he stepped back into the classroom with his sidekick, Goten. With mischief-filled eyes, he pulled his best friend to his side and sprinted towards the front of the room, jumping over tables, chairs and students in the process. "It's time we go for evidences."

_Evidences..._ Gohan thought to himself, then he paled. _Oh no, not a time machine!_

Goten smiled at the group of students, causing most of the girls to go, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!" as he did so. At that, his smile turned sheepish, and he started rocking himself back and forth nervously. When he was nudged by his best friend, he remember that it was his turn to say what they had rehearsed earlier. And so he began his speech. "Most people think time traveling is just a dream. But it's not. It's more than a dream."

He stopped, swallowing. He forgot what he was supposed to say next. He opened his mouth, but not a single word came out. Then he realized what was going on --- everyone was staring at him, staring at him expectantly, and he began to panic. After all, he was not used to talking in front of people.

Once again, his best friend came to his rescue. "It's a reality. And today, we're going to show you the evidence of that reality," the older of the two demi-saiyajins blurted out in a smooth manner, then he pulled out a capsule from his pocket. "We're going to show you... a _time machine_."


	18. Evil Does Not Wear Purple

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Sixteen: Evil Does Not Wear Purple_

_  
_

"Uh, Trunks?" Goten interrupted in a slightly hesitant fashion. "I don't think it's working."

Frustrated, the demi-saiyajin whirled around to check what was wrong with the time machine they brought to show the remaining students of Orange Star High School, and that made Gohan smile in satisfaction and relief. As long as the time machine won't work, there won't be any more trouble --- not that they weren't in enough trouble to begin with.

His jovial mood shattered soon after, however, as the older half of the Troublemaking Duo turned back around to face the students with a proud grin, and as the red light at the top of the arch of the portal-type time machine lit in warning. Groaning, he shrunk back into his seat, his Physics book held in front of him to cover himself. He used to have nothing against the handy time gadget, but in his current situation, it was a totally different story.

He, too, used to have nothing against the other son of Vegeta and Bulma who saved their world by saving the leader of the Z-Senshi, Goku, but in the current situation, it was a totally different story. After all, who else would appear from the oh-so-wonderful machine but the purple-haired warrior from the other timeline? Gohan knew that it would reduce the number of girls stalking him from one class to another, but he also knew that he would be into more trouble than he already was.

Mr. Nozomi tapped his foot impatiently. "Kids, if you don't have anything better, then you might as well step out of this class," he warned in a stern tone, his arms crossed in front of his chest authoritatively. However, he seemed to be the only one --- aside from Gohan --- who was not in favor of what the boys were doing. Even Vegeta seemed rather pleased to know that his Mirai son was on the way, and that it would be his chance to turn him against the baka sons of Kakkarot and get his help in the torture.

The time machine shook once, twice... then bolts of energy from the four corners of the skeletal frame met in the center and produced what looked like a warp hole. Knowing that they were nearly there, Trunks and Goten stepped aside casually, grinning like there was no tomorrow at the older demi-saiyajin that they were torturing. "Ladies," the purple-haired member of the duo began with a smirk, "prepare for your trip to the realm of unconsciousness."

"Why, Trunks?" his best friend asked from the other side of the classroom, certainly perplexed. "Is your Mirai self going to slice them all with his biiiiig sword until they're unconscious when he gets here?"

The purple-haired chibi slapped his forehead dramatically. "Nevermind, Go---"

He never got to finish the question, as a bright beam of light shot out from the warp hole and towards the ceiling in the middle part of the room. The students immediately scrambled out of their seats, rushing to the walls for cover, but their terrified eyes were fixed on the larger warp hole that appeared in their classroom.

"What the hell is that?!" Nozomi-sensei snapped, quivering in fear as he peeked from under his desk. Of all the people inside the classroom, he was the first to run and take cover, but he would never admit that he was scared when the fuss would be over.

"That, Mr. Nozomi," Trunks began with a smirk, "is one of the special effects of our little experiment." He flashed a look at Gohan, who had his fear-filled girlfriend clinging to him on all fours, and then at his father, who was sporting a smirk of his own, before he focused his gaze on the warp hole, anticipating the arrival of the warrior from the future. "Just wait and see."

_He sure has a knack for dramatic entrances_, Gohan thought with a scowl, anticipating what would happen next. And barely a second after the demi-saiyajin said that to himself, the warp hole burst like an exploding sun, brightening the classroom extensively and making everyone present shield their eyes. When the light died down, not only did they see a stranger in their midst, unconscious on the floor among the _broken_ wooden chairs, but they also saw that the girls in their class had fainted.

All of them, including Videl.

The two alien spies stepped into the locker room of Orange Star High School and began changing into less suspicious clothing, for they knew that their robes would definitely give them away. But unable to find anything, they settled for the purple leotards and tights they found in the said room and thought that it was better than nothing.

The taller, bigger one of the two slid the door of the room open and began to head into the corridor to the classroom where he believe the saiyajins were in, when he realized that his companion was not following him. Frowning, he went back into the locker room, and found the younger member of their duo in another round of chanting, bowing and floor-kissing.

"This isn't the time to pray!" he snapped in irritation, taking the younger spy by the arm and dragging him away. But the little one did not seem to know what was going on in the outside world. He continued to chant, bow, and kiss --- but since he was no longer on the floor, he ended up smothering his companion with his kisses.

Unable to take what was going on, the older alien smacked his companion on the head --- and _that_ jolted him awake. "About time," he breathed in exasperation, his sapphire eyes narrowing considerably at that. "I was already thinking of dumping you into the pail of water in the comfort room to wake you up."

The other looked upset. "Buh-but I was praying!" he reasoned out, but the his friend was no longer listening. Slumping his shoulders in defeat, he trudged solemnly behind the older spy, until he realized how his superior looked with the purple outfit he was wearing. "It really matches your hair, you know."

That made him whirl around to face the chibi, a murderous look on his face. "Say that again," he began in a low, threatening tone as he glared daggers at his companion, "and I'm going to claw your eyes out, even if it will kill you. Mark my words." He then smirked. "And it's not like it doesn't match _your_ hair either."

Barely half an hour after the appearance of the mysterious purple-haired young man from what the Troublemaking Duo claimed to be a _warp hole_, almost the entire female populace who left Orange Star High returned in a stampede. They pushed their way past each other, past the crowd that gathered before them, just to get a glimpse of the _"Hottest Guy Who Ever Set Foot in Orange Star High School"_ who was being glomped by hundreds of women.

Gohan was enjoying the situation, yes, but he soon realized that there was no such thing as _perfect bliss_. True, he was delighted Mirai Trunks had gotten his fan club off his back and on to his own, because it gave him more time for himself and more privacy, but he loathed the fact that even his own _girlfriend_ was stalking the purple-haired wonder in a crazed, obsessed fashion.

"Lookit his lovely purple hair!" the eighteen-year-old was shrieking as she jumped up and down to get a better view of her newfound crush, and ended up hovering a meter up in the air out of her inborn talents. She then started singing, "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a wonderful guy!"

That was the final blow. With drastically narrowed raven eyes, he pushed his way past the crowd of crazed females to confront the warrior from the future, who was then all swirly-eyed at the hugs and kisses he received. "Trunks," the demi-saiyajin began darkly, trying to restrain his annoyance. He had more than enough things to be pissed about in one day. "I don't care if you take everyone else in this school as your girlfriends, as long as you leave mine alone. Comprende, partner?"

Mirai Trunks was too dizzy to react to the other's threat. "Gohan?" he called out as he was once again glomped by a huddle of girls, panic rising in him once again. "Aaaaah Gohan, help! I'm being --- murdered!"

But the demi-saiyajin had already left, dragging his girlfriend along with him, who continued to comment on how lovely Mirai Trunks' purple hair was, and how in love she was with him. Meanwhile, the Troublemaking Duo along with their mastermind, Vegeta, only smirked in utter satisfaction. "Step Two of _Mission: Torture Gohan_ accomplished," the saiyajin pureblood announced proudly with an evil glint in his eyes.

The other saiyajin pureblood, Goku, was totally oblivious to what was going on. Ever since Vegeta declared himself Principal, he had been attending to the former head of the school, Mr. Fuan. But the man had requested that he be taken to the cafeteria to get a drink, and that was a very bad move for him, for the saiyajin didn't want to leave anymore as he ate his heart out. There was nothing Mr. Fuan could do to make him stop.

However, Goku stopped just as he was about to shove another bowl of rice into his mouth. He had seen two figures scurry past the far end of the cafeteria, and from all his experiences, he knew it was something to be suspicious about. The third-class saiyajin warrior wasn't very bright --- in fact, Vegeta doubted that he had a brain at all --- but he surely knew how to deal with such situations.

Excusing himself from the former Principal --- which was to Mr. Fuan's utter delight --- he crept to the other end of the cafeteria, hoping to intercept the strangers who he believed to be sticking their heads out of their hiding spot to check whatever was going on. And he was right. He only saw their purple clothing, and that made him smile.

Taking his chance, he crept towards the duo, and when he was near enough, he grabbed them both by the shoulders and spun them around. His face fell, however, as he saw who they were --- or rather, what they looked like. "_Trunks?_" he asked, gaping at the taller one of the two, before he transferred his gaze on the smaller member of the duo. "_Trunks_?"

Their cover blown, the alien spies decided to expose their true colors to the world. After all, they've spotted the first saiyajin already, and that was more than enough of an accomplishment. Posing side by side, one back against the other, they began the routine they had long been practicing, glad that they were finally going to be able to use it.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evil of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

Goku looked on, actually amused. Despite the fact that the two weren't the people he expected to perform the routine --- after all, he was an avid fan of the Pokemon series, and had secretly thought of going on a quest to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master, but found out that he had no Pokemon to begin with --- he was enjoying, nonetheless.

"Team Trunks, blast off, but at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"That's riiiight!"

---

_I haven't watched Pokemon in ages, and I had to go through a Pokemon site just to find out if I got the Team Rocket routine right. Anyway... I know, I know, this is getting cliche, bringing Mirai Trunks in and all --- but I just can't help it! I just wanted to throw him into the mix! But if you're still upset by that fact, feel free to stop reading. I'm not forcing you to read on or anything._

_I really don't have much to say now, except that things are almost going to get wrapped up and sent to the conclusion. And yes, Videl will snap out of her regression. If you have any ideas, feel free to make a wild guess. I might reward you by writing another fic of your choice --- that is, if you want that to be your reward._

_Please review!_


	19. A Trunks Invasion

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Seventeen - A Trunks Invasion_

A groan escaped the lips of the warrior from the future as he trudged behind his friend who had grown up after seven long years, for he was being followed by a raven-haired beauty who continued to examine his hair and say that it was _lovely_. "Gohan," Mirai Trunks began with a scowl, "who in the world is this girl?!"

"My girlfriend," the other demi-saiyajin replied, and before the other could gape at her condition, he quickly added, "got into a car accident and is now suffering of regression. You _don't_ wanna know what else transpired ever since that time." He then came to a halt, Trunks and Videl bumping right into their backs. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, Gohan-kun?" she asked, still fidgeting with Trunks' hair.

"Footsteps. _Lots_ of footsteps," Gohan identified, then suddenly, his raven eyes widened in terror. Not only did he hear lots of footsteps, he heard more and more, and they were obviously on a dead run, in a stampede. Paling, he turned to their guest and said, "Trunks, I think your fan club has finally realized that we've escaped. Any suggestions, buddy?"

Those words made the older of the demi-saiyajins pale considerably, his sapphire orbs widening as well as the sound of the stampeding fangirls was picked up by his sensitive ears. "Uh-oh, and I mean _uh-oh!_" he exclaimed, panicking. That was when he grabbed Gohan by the back of his shirt, Videl by the back of hers as well, and he took off with them to the cerulean sky. "Gotta fly!"

However, the regressed young woman began to wriggle and giggle in excitement. "WOW! THIS IS SO COOL! I'M FLOATING! I'M FLEETING! I'M FLYING! WE'RE FLYING!" she shrieked happily, overjoyed by the gust of wind that streaked fiercely past her face, whipping her hair in all directions. "WE'RE FLYING! WE'RE FLYING! THIS FEELS LIKE MAGIC!"

It was then when she saw how Trunks' hair was blown away by the wind, and how his hair gleamed against the bright rays of light given off by the sun, and sparkles appeared randomly in her eyes. She sighed dreamily as she reached out for his lovely locks of purple hair, eager to get a hold and tug them once again. "I loooooooooooooooooooooove you sooooooooooooo much, Trunks-kun! I loooooooooooove your lovely purple haiiiiiiiiiir!"

Gohan could only sigh as the crowd of Trunks fangirls screamed and shrieked for him to get down and for Videl to get off him. With the Mirai warrior around, there was more trouble than ever, and there was no telling when he would be able to get back. "I think I should tell your Mom that you're here..." he offered, hoping to be able to do something to make things a little better. At least, for himself.

The youngest member of the alien invaders emerged from his room all loaded with weapons. The scientist's robe that he was wearing was stuffed not only with firearms, but also with sharp objects that could be of use in their invasion attempt. And strapped on his back was a large bazooka, loaded and ready to hit heads as well as neighboring body parts.

"Very good, my son," the evil warlord who led the entire group praised with a smirk, his raven eyes fixed on the viewscreen that stated the condition of the spies they sent down. "I knew those two would fail. They disgust me. Eliminate them as soon as we get there."

"Oh Great One, if I may interrupt..." the robe-clad priest interrupted, stepping into the deck through a duck and nearly toppling down because of his gravity-defying hair that nearly smashed across the doorway, "I believe the gods condemned them to that dilemna because of the disgusting act they are exhibiting. The gods never favored the color purple, yet there they are, not only sporting abominable color on their heads, but also on their body."

"They disgust me as much as they disgust the gods," the Great One snapped, cutting his adviser completely. He had no time for such advises and witty remarks; they had to descend before they would be discovered. Whirling around, he turned to see his son, but his eyes narrowed drastically as he found that his older son was missing. "Where is your brother?"

The scientist smiled, revealing his teeth in a mischievous manner. "He will be here soon, father. He thinks he's a dog, but I've set the bait to lure him in." He lifted a fat bone. "I will feed him with this once we arrive on the surface, to confront the saiyajins. This will induce a feeding frenzy inside his body that his metabolism will submit to that maniacal excitement and eliminate unnecessary emotions like fear."

A howl suddenly tore from the far end of the deck, and the door crashed open, revealing a handsome yet dirty-looking young man who was down on all fours. He sniffed the air, scenting something suspicious yet undeniably palatable, and charged for the armed scientist like mad. He was only a meter away when a dart shot from out of nowhere, hit him on the chest, and made him slump to the floor, unusually calm.

"Tranquilizer," the scientist explained before he took out a chain from the pocket of his robes and wrapped it around his brother's neck. He then pulled his sibling towards his father, and their superior. "We are ready, father. Let us leave before those blockheads cause any more trouble --- please, please, no more of those chants and your rif-raf, Holy One."

The priest, who had opened his mouth to wish them the blessings of the gods, shut it instead and backed away, clutching the precious pile of parchments closer to him. He wanted to accuse his superior's son of heresy, but he knew that it would only delay their mission that had been planned out by the gods, and the blame would fall on his shoulders. He did not want to take something such as that into his own self.

Instead, he stepped aside, and allowed the trio to take the path that lead to their ball-shaped spaceship that had seven glowing stars engraved on its hull. However, the warlord stopped in his tracks as soon as he was two meters away from the muscular friar. "Holy One? Aren't you going to come with us, and curse those saiyajins for their ridiculous satire in the name of the gods? It's not like you to just stay out of missions such as this."

"Yes, Great One," the priest replied almost hesitantly, before he sprinted off after the others. He did not want to descend in the first place, as he was afraid that he would not be able to fight back when the battle would begin, and that would rob him of an honorable death, but he was left with no choice. He'd rather face the saiyajins, than face the wrath of his superior, who was capable of shaming him through their race's history.

Their hunger getting to them, Vegeta and his apprentices Trunks and Goten headed towards the cafeteria of Orange Star High School. The eldest member of the saiyajin trio was the Principal of the said establishment, after all, and he had all the right to get whatever food that he wanted --- and at whatever amount.

"I want candy, Vegeta-san!" Kakkarot's clone chirped from beside him.

"Cake for me, Otousan!"

"Brats," the Prince began, not even sparing at glance at his subordinates as he continued to walk with pride towards the cafeteria, "for the successful implementation of the first two steps of our mission, you can have all the candy and cake that you want for half an hour. If all goes well, I shall allow you to eat everything else in that lousy cafeteria."

Excited and hyper beyond belief at the Saiyajin no Ouji's offer, the Troublemaking Duo scurried off, running and fying and floating without much thought, leaving their mastermind behind. Vegeta, however, did not mind at all. The brats only wanted the cake and candy; he had everything else for himself.

He was still deep in his thoughts about all the food that he could eat --- compared to the water and crackers his mate was giving him ever since their cover was blown in the kidnapping incident --- when the boys' terrified yells snapped the thought bubble he was trapped in. Eyes narrowing dangerously, Vegeta hurried off to where he believed the sound came from...

... and found two other Trunkses posing in front of him, the boys, and the third-class baka Kakkarot, in the same ridiculous fashion the Great Saiyaman was known for. He thought it was only his sons, but when he saw a short, purple-haired figure latch itself on his spiky-haired best friend and a tall, purple-haired figure stop short from his flight through the air (followed by a hoarde of fangirls, of course, who all fainted at the sight of another purple-haired wonder), all his speculations disappeared into thin air.

"What is going on here?" Gohan managed to croak from his spot up in the air as he carried an unconscious Videl, who once again fainted at the sight of the second Mirai Trunks. There was so much surprise and confusion in his dark eyes.

The Mirai Trunks clone coughed, as if in interruption, then nodded to his companion, signalling that they begin their routine once again. Feeling loved that there were so many people watching them, they went through their introduction all over again, draining the color on the faces of the real Trunkses, and making Goten tremble in fright. True, he loved Pokemon, but the sight of two other Trunkses was enough to terrify the poor child.

Goku, on the other hand, burst into a fit of applause, jumping up and down as he did so. "That was marvelous! Again, again!" he chanted, making the Saiyajin no Ouji slap himself on the forehead dramatically.

"It's official. I. Am. Doomed," Mirai Trunks muttered, accepting the fact that it was the end of the world --- specifically, the end of _his_ world. He buried his head in his hands, not wanting to see the clones that made him and his Chibi counterpart look even more stupid than the Great Saiyaman.

A sigh escaped Gohan's lips as he turned towards his friend and flew to his direction. Patting the purple-haired demi-saiyajin's shoulder in hopes to make him feel better, he remarked in an assuring tone, "You've always been doomed, Trunks. You've always been doomed."

"And _that_ is supposed to make me feel better?!"

"Well, it's always good to know that someone else knows that you're doomed," Gohan replied in an assuring tone once again, but this time with a crooked grin, before he shrugged, as if noticing for the first time how worked up his visiting friend was. "Hey, why the long face, buddy? It's a Trunks invasion and you're upset. Cheer up!"

"Sometimes, Gohan, you're as thick-headed as your father..." the purple-haired demi-saiyajin muttered to himself in annoyance. However, the teenager heard his name, so he asked the Mirai warrior to repeat what he said, which made Trunks annoyed even more. "I said," he began with much exasperation, "that this is going to be one horrible day, Gohan. Now, can somebody _please_ tell me what is going on here?!"


	20. Born on the Opposite Sides of the Sea

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Eighteen - Born on the Opposite Sides of the Sea_

"We're here to take over your world!"

The saiyajins stared at the clones in disbelief. Two blockheaded warriors of their caliber (Vegeta even wondered if they were warriors to begin with) were plotting to take over the world? If they hoped to take over the female half of the planet, they could with their looks alone, but not with their idiocy and feeble-mindedness.

"Aside from your ridiculous demeanor, that's something else to laugh at," the Saiyajin no Ouji blurted out with a chuckle, his eyes flashing mischievously as he regarded the two look-alikes of his son. He then stepped forward, raising an eyebrow. "Take over the world? Are you sure about that? Can you two even fight?"

"Don't you insult us!" the Chibi clone snapped in anger. He was going to launch at the proud saiyajin warrior if his companion did not stop him from doing so. Struggling to break free from his friend's clutches, he exclaimed, "We know how to fight! But we don't want to waste our time on you pathetic warriors of this mudball of a planet!"

"What are you saying?!" the taller clone whispered with a glare in the younger one's direction, before he yanked his companion by the back of his leotards and hissed, "Have you forgotten?! We have to wait until the others arrive! Until then, stick to using your mouth!"

He dumped the Chibi on the ground, uncaring if he was hurt or not, but then the boy began kissing the floor once again, chanting and praying in the midst of the staring crowd of male humans and saiyajins. The females were still out, as it seemed that the clone had greater effects on their gender rather than the original Mirai Trunks.

At that, Vegeta crossed his arms in front of his chest and snorted. "And you're going to take over the world. Pathetic." He then spun around and left, muttering something under his breath. The Ouji, however, didn't get to go very far, for a gust of wind suddenly blew past his face as a sphere made of black metal descended from the sky, making everyone nearby back off and shield their faces from the wind that blew even stronger than ever.

"They're here! They're here!" the clones chorused as they broke into a merry dance, despite of the mini-tempest that brewed from the mysterious craft. As the hatch of the spacecraft lowered, the two demi-saiyajin look-alikes sprinted into a run, ready to welcome the rest of the members of their invasion force.

And they slid out, one by one, all wearing dark clothing. The priest walked out first, bowing randomly and chanting as he did so, apparently preparing the way for the Supreme Overlord, who would come out last. The scientist hopped out next, still dragging his brother who believed he was a dog --- this time, the older clone seemed ready to bite anyone who crosses his path. Lastly, the warlord himself stepped onto the earth, looking as authoritative and as sinister as ever.

The Z-Senshi, however, were looking at the newcomers with jaws dropped. The terrified cries of the Troublemaking Duo echoed through the grounds as soon as they got over the initial shock, holding on to each other in comfort. Vegeta was then twitching angrily, a vein that threatened to pop out throbbing through his forehead, while Gohan looked on in utter disbelief. Goku, while he stood there with his eyes fixed on the visitors, was at a loss of words.

And they had a reason to react that way --- after all, the aliens were the splitting images of the Sons and the Saiyajin no Ouji, Vegeta.

"Yes, we're here to take over your world," the Great One said in a low, lethal done as he stepped forward, his ebony cape cascading behind him magnificently. The greatest surprise about him, however, was not the evil gleam in his raven eyes, nor the wild, spiky hair that was similar to those of the Sons, but because of that fact that he was the mirror image of the leader of the Z-Senshi, Goku, who was at the opposite end of the goodness spectrum from the newcomer.

Putting the magazine she was reading on her lap, Bulma yawned and stretched her arms before she lowered herself into the couch, her eyes scanning the ceiling as if it was something she hadn't seen in her life. Not only did she excuse herself from her work to relax, she did not have to worry about food, because her friend and fellow mother Chichi was doing the cooking for him. She was utter delighted at that, because she was a terrible cook compared to the other woman, and that she wouldn't have to suffer through stomach-aching meals.

Despite the warning that one should not read while lying down, the blue-haired genius grabbed her magazine anyway and resumed reading. Her favorite TV program was still in a few minutes, and what was playing on her television was something very unentertaining, so she had to somehow kill the time by reading.

Upon hearing a male voice boom through the television's speakers, saying, "Newsflash!" Bulma sat up and put the magazine aside with drastically narrowed eyes. As soon as the reporter announced that she was at Orange Star High School, the scientist immediately called out her friend from the kitchen and told her to hurry.

Chichi went running into the living room, clutching her precious weapon close to her. "What? What is it, Bulma? What's going on?"

Calmly, the other woman pointed to the television screen, and heard the reporter exclaim in a question rather than a statement, "Not only have the female population of Orange Star High School been knocked out unconscious, a battle is now taking place at the grounds, a battle between --- two sets of warriors who unbelievably, look like each other?!" The reporter then shrieked as a ki-blast streaked past her direction, barely missing her head, and began begging that Mr. Satan come by and help stop the brewing trouble.

"Clones?" Bulma asked, now dumbfolded at the sight. She then turned to her companion, who was as bewildered as she was. Deciding that the best way to know was to check the matter out, the scientist stood up and nodded curtly. "Suit up, Chichi. It's time for us to get into the bottom of things. If this is another plot of those boys, I don't know what I'll do with them."

The housewife only nodded, too shocked to speak, before she rushed back to the kitchen, put off all the appliances that were functioning, took out an extra Frying-Pan-of-Ultimate-Catastrophe™ from a secret compartment in the large shelf, whipped away her apron, and headed back to the living room to meet up with her partner-in-crime who was already ready for action. All in a shocking thirty seconds, including the split-second transfer of their precious weapon from one hand to the other.

A pleased smile leaking through Bulma's features, she muttered, "Oh yeah, we're making this look good." She then thwapped her own version of IT around, as if warming up for the thwapping she was going to do once they were going to get in the campus, before her pleased grin transformed into a slightly cruel smirk. "Let's go and teach those boys a lesson, Chichi."

The Goten-looking scientist, unable to hit his counterpart with the weapons he had hidden under his robe, resorted to taking out his large bazooka from his back, aiming it at the demi-saiyajin who was hovering above him. "You may have avoided my initial attacks," the clone began in a smug tone as he squinted an eye to get his target locked, "but you will not make it out of this one. It's bye-bye time for you, my me-looking adversary."

And he fired, sending a bowling sized ball out of the weapon. Goten stood still in anticipation, his eyes focused at what came out of the oversized firearm, and swerved away a second before the bullet --- or what he believed to be --- was supposed to hit him. What he wasn't aware of, however, was that the bullet was a mini-missile, and it made a sharp u-turn, hitting the demi-saiyajin on the back and sending him into a collision course with a tree trunk.

That was not the end of the attack, however. As soon as the demi-saiyajin crashed into the large tree, holes appeared from the upper half of the ball and sent out spider-like strands that wrapped the poor boy into the tree. Back on the ground, the scientist smirked in satisfaction, hoisting the bazooka back onto his back. "Score."

Chibi Trunks, on the other hand, had not attacked in any way, because before they could begin their battle, his adversary asked for a time-out, and began praying in the most peculiar kind of way. When he ran out of patience, however, he charged up a ki-blast and hurled it towards the clone, who immediately saw it coming and ran off, screaming with his hands over his head.

The purple-haired boy laughed in his victory, but he wasn't able to enjoy it for very long. A short moment after he let out his satisfaction, his Mirai self came slamming into him, and because of the head-to-head impact they were both knocked out unconscious. Mirai Trunks' clone, despite the ridiculous purple outfit he was wearing, had something up in his sleeve all along, and as he turned towards the crowd of fangirls to flex his muscles arrogantly, the females fainted, once again.

If there was anyone who was not amused at all by his battle, it was Vegeta, but not because of the fact that he was losing. It was because of the fact that his battle had not begun. The priest with gravity-defying hair, who looked a lot like him, kept him waiting in their match. "The gods will bless you for looking like me, kind sir," the clone began in a soft, soothing tone that annoyed the Saiyajin no Ouji greatly. "But if you decide to fight me, then the curse of the heavens will fall upon you."

That made Vegeta twitch in anger even more, his insides ready to explode. "_You_ are the copy, baka. If there's a curse that will fall from the heavens, it shall be on you!" the saiyajin snapped as he dropped into a fighting stance, his patience slipping into nothingness. "Now fight me! Stop your act and fight me!"

"Why is there a need to fight, kind sir? The gods do not only condemn fighting for a servant such as myself, fighting itself is pointless and irrational!" the priest reasoned out, meeting the saiyajin's angry gaze with his calm ones.

"Fighting is how things are decided in this world, you stupid clone," Vegeta muttered angrily, his aura exploding, making him transform into the first level of a super saiyajin. He waved a warning finger in the other's direction. "You have much to learn, and you have to learn that you and your stupid gods have no place in this world! Either you fight, or scram!"

"Oh you're wrong, kind sir! It's fighting that has no place in this world! This world is full of light and love!" the clone exclaimed, before he gave out an ear-splitting smile that intimidated the Saiyajin no Ouji even more than he already was. With the same cheerful voice, he announced to the world, "I'm going to kill you now!"

"Ah, shaddap!"


	21. We Follow the Way of 'The Pan'

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Chapter Nineteen - We Follow the Way of 'The Pan'_

The Saiyajin no Ouji, however, clearly underestimated his foe. He thought that the priest was some lowly alien clone who did not know anything about the fighting arts, but he was seriously mistaken. It was too late when he found out that his look-alike was more than a match to him, and that his butt was being kicked by a replica of himself that spoke about light and love in cheerfully annoying tones.

Spreading out his arms, the priest sang, "Love lifts us up where we belong!" in the same voice that intimidated his foe, before he rose into the air, tiny bolts of lightning cackling around him, but his hair and eye color remained the same. He finished with all of his heart, "Where eagles fly, on a mountain high!"

His voice made Vegeta fall on his knees and cover his ears as a head-splitting pain tore through his head. Not only was the clone horribly off-key, his voice seemed to be one of the tools to his success. Eventually, the pain wore off, and the saiyajin warrior managed to squint an eye open to see what was going on, but the priest would only sing another verse or two about love in his ultra-powerful voice...

... until the Prince dropped cold.

Meanwhile, Goku was busy fighting the Great One, the Supreme Overlord of the alien clones. If there was any one of the Z-Senshi who found his match in terms of battle skills, it was their leader. They exchanged one punch after the other, one kick after the other, one ki-blast after the other. They disappeared into thin air, reappeared from thin air, exchanged blows, then disappeared into thin air, reappeared from thin air, exchanged blows, then disappeared, reappeared, exchanged --- and the cycle repeated itself.

"You are abominations," the warlord began in a low growl, sounding like Goku only more sinister, as he pointed at the saiyajin warrior with an accusing finger. "You and your cursed saiyajin friends. How dare you mock us by taking on our appearance! You will pay for this, then we will take over your world!"

"Not a chance! You will not take over this world!" Goku exclaimed in return, before the features on his face transformed into complete confusion. He then touched his face gingerly. "We're the ones who took on your appearance? Really? But if we did, how did we did it?"

The Great One laughed, noticing the other's error in grammar. "It's how did we _do_ it, Kakkarot. But nonetheless, that is no longer important." He swept his hand as he took one step back to show his opponent what had happened to his comrades. "They have fallen by our hands. You will join them very soon. Fight me now!"

But Goku was still pondering on what he was told. "No, you're wrong," he blurted out, looking at the enemy with a determined look on his face. "It's how did we _did_ it. See? It's past tense. We didn't copy your faces at present, did we? If we copied it, we did it a long time ago, because we've been living in these faces for the past years. So you're wrong and I'm right."

"You act like you're so smart," the Great One snarled, before he folded his arms in front of his chest smugly. If the saiyajin warrior did not want to fight physically, then they were going to fight mentally --- and he was going to win. "Very well, then. If that is what you wish. But Kakkarot, do tell me, what is 1 + 1?"

His answer was confident and direct. "Two."

"2 + 2?"

Unfortunately, the saiyajin warrior was not prepared for that. He knew the answer to the clone's first question, because he and Vegeta discussed it a few days back, but 2 + 2 was a completely different story. "2 + 2?" he asked, then he began pacing around as he thought of the answer, using his hands to figure out the answers. "If one and one is two, then two and two... one, two, three, four... ah! I know!"

"Tell me, then, oh great Kakkarot. What is 2 + 2?" He smiled at his counterpart, although it was nowhere near the genuine classification. "Come on, Kakkarot. Tell me what you've come up with."

"Since one and one is two," Goku began with a proud smile, rocking back and forth in his own way of expressing his excitement, "and two is next to one, so... two and two... well, the next to two is..." He held up his fingers to express his answer, along with a dramatic pose that was the best he could come up with in an unusually short span of time. "Two and two is _three!_"

At the far end of the campus grounds, Gohan and his clone played a game of tag. His vicious dog-thinking counterpart sprinted after him in a feral fashion, even if he would take refuge in the air --- for the other would run up into him as well. The teenage demi-saiyajin threw one ki-blast after the other, but the clone was too fast for him.

Eventually, the alien clone rammed straight into him, knocked him down on the ground and pinned him there. Gohan tried to wriggle away, away from the face that mirrored his own yet with sharp teeth that looked like a dog's, but to no avail. He tried to talk himself out of the situation he was in, but found that the only language that his foe understood was brute force. He was about to try and hit his foe with another ki-blast when...

**CLANG!**

The Gohan clone crumpled into an unconscious heap beside the real demi-saiyajin.

"Well. That wasn't too hard, was it?" came a woman's voice, and it was one of those times when Gohan was so glad to hear it. Then, Chichi bent down and extended her hand towards her son, who was smiling at her with much gratitude. "Now, Gohan dear, you have to tell us what's going on, and where everybody else is."

So the demi-saiyajin explained the situation to the two women, and told them that everyone else had fallen except his father, Goku. After his short but very direct to the point narration, the blue-haired genius stroked her weapon lovingly, which made the teenager cringe noticeably. "I see," she mumbled, before she looked at her comrade and smiled. "I believe that it's our turn to save the world ---" She raised IT. "--- with this!"

That made the demi-saiyajin's mother clap in approval, as Gohan heaved a sigh. He was delighted in the fact that the clone torture would be over in a flurry, but he wasn't sure if the two women could break past their enemies' defenses. His unheard question, however, did not happen to be completely unheard at all. "Don't worry, dear," his mother broke through his reverie, "we're going to be able to get past their defenses through _your_ help. All right?"

He swallowed. "I knew there was a glitch."

The battle of wits between the leaders of the two groups did not last very long. Annoyed at the way the other was acting, the Great One decided to go back to the physical match. Standing at where they were most comfortable, the Supreme Overlord's allies looked on, pleased at the exchange of blows that was going on. 

By then, the other spectators had fled, afraid to get blasted into the next dimension by the random energy blasts that would appear out of nowhere. Even the Mirai Trunks fangirls had escaped, assuring themselves that their hero would live to tell the fabulous tale about the war that transpired in the middle of the historic Orange Star High School.

Even Videl was nowhere in sight --- at least, to the enemies' eyes. She had regained consciousness and was hiding behind a tree, out of her built-in instinct that she had to do so, for her to stay out of trouble. She was crying, however, although she did her best to stifle her sobs, for she saw the saiyajins fall one by one, her lovely purple-haired Mirai Trunks included. She hoped that her Gohan-kun was safe and sound, and that he would not appear to avoid getting hurt.

But he did, unfortunately. The teenager stepped out from behind the battling warriors casually, obviously unhurt. Videl wanted to run and hug him tight, because he was safe, but a greater, stronger part of her told her not to do so, or otherwise, something bad would happen. She decided to scream instead, but before she could let a word out of her mouth, a hand clamped over it.

"Not now, Videl dear."

Her cerulean eyes brightened considerably as she saw Chichi and Bulma standing behind her, trying to keep themselves hidden by the tree. She also saw the weapons they were carrying, and the moment she did, she knew that they were not going to be defeated. She knew the effects the metal frying pans had on the saiyajins, and she was sure that it would not take long for the war to be over.

Slowly, Bulma edged forward, moving even closer to the battlefield, Chichi close behind. And that was when Videl's eyes caught yet another kitchen utensil sticking out from the back pocket of the older woman's attire.

A _ladle_.

Stealthily, she grabbed it, and hid her weapon behind her back. She wasn't going to let the adults have fun on their own. If Goten and Trunks got their share in the battle, she was going to get hers to, no matter what everyone else would tell her. After all, wasn't she a fighter too? That she knew --- she wasn't sure how, but she did --- and that she would use to her advantage.

Gohan's voice, firm yet mocking, flooded into her senses. "How many of you will it take to kill a _pathetic_ saiyajin such as myself?" he taunted, his hands tucked casually into his pockets as if he was facing something that he shouldn't worry about. In his raven eyes shone the gleam of mischievousness, but the clones were too thick-headed to notice it.

The Great One flicked his wrist, and in an instant, a large rock pulled itself off the earth that held it, then flung itself into the head of the Z-Senshi's leader, Goku, dazing the saiyajin warrior. In fact, the blow made the warrior's vision blurr and his world spin. At that, the clone leader faced Gohan, an angry light escaping his eyes. "You'll never live long enough to find out, boy. Finish him!" he exclaimed, pointing at Gohan.

Nobody moved. Nobody attacked, much to the Supreme Overlord's puzzlement. Annoyed at what his inferiors were exhibited, he yelled, "What more are you waiting for?! I said, finish that pesky little saiyajin---"

His voice trailed off as he whirled around and saw what was truly going on. His comrades were on the ground, unconscious. He could not believe his eyes. How in the world could it have happened?! How in the world could someone be strong enough to knock out his inferiors just like that?! He knew it wasn't possible --- but it happened. The anger in his eyes was replaced by fear.

Then, he saw the cause of it all. He saw the strongest warriors in the world he had chosen to invade. They stood silhouetted by the shadow of a large tree, backs pressed against each other. "You made the wrong choice when you decided to drop by, Kakkarot clone," one of the two began in a voice that was undeniably female. "You're not welcome in this world at all. They might have fallen, but you still have us to deal with."

In unison, they stepped into the light.

_Women?!_ the Great One thought in disbelief, his eyes widening even more than it already did. In front of him stood two women who looked neither young nor old, holding some sort of metal equipment close to themselves. _And they... they defeated my comrades with those... those... abominations?!_

"Unfortunately for you," the black-haired member of the duo blurted out, cocking a smile, "we follow the way of _The Pan_, just as you submit to its will." She fell out of their pose, thwapping her weapon which she called _The Pan_ around, as if exhibiting its capabilities when they had done so more than enough. "With these, we are indestructible."

Taking advantage of the enemy's stunned reaction, the women attacked, letting their fighting skills loose. They closed on him from both sides, their weapons lifted up and ready to strike, and still too overwhelmed to move, the Supreme Overlord felt the power of the Frying-Pan-of-Ultimate-Catastrophe™ --- doubled --- on his head. Insantly, he dropped unconscious.

That was when Videl, her sapphire eyes shining with much joy and pride, sprinted out of her hiding place, overjoyed. "You did it, Chichi-san! You did it, Bulma-san! You did it, Gohan-kun!" she shrieked, hopping and skipping as she rushed to congratulate the people who saved the day. "That was awesome! You really showed them---"

**CLANG!**

"O-oh my Kami!" Chichi gasped as she realized who she had hit with her weapon. Too absorbed in their feat, the two women went into a series of dramatic poses and pan-thwapping moves that she accidentally hit the regressed teenager on the head when she came running to them. Panicking, she knelt down by the girl's side just as her son did so, and when they found out she was alive (to their utter relief, as they had yet to find out the effects of _The Pan_ thwapping a human), the older woman started shrieking that Gohan bring her to the hospital.

Goku, who finally recovered from being slammed on the head by a rock, picked up the bodies of the unconscious aliens, stuffed them into the spaceship they arrived in, and kicked it off into the sky, before firing a _Kamehameha_ that sent it zooming to the far ends of space. He then gathered his fallen comrades, and took them to a safe place to recover with Chichi and Bulma --- the former still sobbing about what she had accidentally done to her future daughter-in-law.

The students, finally noticing how quiet it had become, scurried into the battlefield to see what had happened, and discovered --- much to the fangirls' disappointment --- that everyone was gone. To add to their frustration, the interns who served as their teachers called them back into their respective classrooms to continue with their lessons.

That was when a voice boomed from the school's gate.

"Fear not, fear not, students, countrymen and lovers! The great, the strong, the invincible --- the handsome--- Mr. Satan is here to save the day! Cower before me, evil warriors who have come to threaten the people who I serve and love! Your lives shall not be spared! You will feel the wrath of the most powerful warrior in this planet ---"

He suddenly froze upon whirling around, at the peak of his pose, as he realized that no one was there. No one, not even the crowd of high school students, who he knew was there when he began his classic battlecry and introduction. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders in defeat, turned around and walked away.


	22. Epilogue

Author's Note: I'm really _really_ sorry for the slow pace of this fic, but I've just had too much schoolwork to do anyway, here's the final chapter for all of you to enjoy. I would like to thank everyone who supported me throughout this piece, you've been great! Thank you once again, and have fun! 

**---**

**In the Eyes of a Child**

_Epilogue_

After what seemed to be a very long time, she fluttered her sapphire eyes open, blinking them repeatedly as she tried to clear her still-blurry vision. Eventually, her sight began to focus, and the blur of brown-and-black became the warm, smiling face of Son Gohan, complete with the concerned look in his beautiful black eyes that she fell in love with. 

"Where am I?" she asked, her voice soft and barely audible. As soon as she let the question out, she knew the answer because of what her eyes permitted her to see, but she did not regret voicing it out, nonetheless. After all, it would give her boyfriend the reason to answer her, and she wanted nothing more than to hear her voice again.

Gohan, surprised that she no longer went with the classic _Gohan-kun_ that he learned to consider a term of endearment, took quite a while to reply to her inquiry. When her eyes narrowed considerably, that was when he remembered that he was asked a question. "In the hospital," he replied, then asked her, "You don't remember?"

She only groaned. "No, but my head hurts," she answered him. Noticing the concern in the demi-saiyajin's eyes intensify, she quickly added, "A bit." She closed her eyes briefly, trying to push the pain that gathered inside her head away, but realized that she remembered nothing about what has transpired the past days. "What happened, Son Gohan? You better answer me, or else---"

His sheepish smile met her gaze as she opened her eyes once more. "Well..." he stammered, not wanting to tell her what exactly happened so as not to embarrass her, "... we got attacked by aliens, who looked like us saiyajins. You got... um... hit in the head during the battle, because you rushed into the battle blindly. And..."

"Are you blaming me for what happened?!" Videl snapped, glaring daggers at him.

She swore she saw tears brimming in his ebony eyes, and her suspicions were confirmed when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, for he heard the sobs he was trying to keep to himself. She immediately softened, realizing that there was something else that happened _to her_ that he didn't want to tell, that he didn't want to talk about.

Confident that Gohan will tell her the truth eventually, like how he told her all his secrets, she embraced him in return, glad to be back in his strong arms that never failed to give her comfort and ease. Then, when she thought words were already whisked away by the moment of bliss that took place between them, she heard the demi-saiyajin whisper in a barely audible voice, "I'm so glad to have you back, Videl."

Everything was soon back to normal in Orange Star High School. The interns had already finished their work experience and had gone back to their universities with smiles for excellent-rated reports. Mr. Eraishi Fuan was back as Principal, as Vegeta had gone back to training in his gravity-enhanced fighting chamber. The fangirls had gone back to not being fangirls, as there was no Mirai Trunks for them to trample upon.

They did not even chase Gohan around the campus anymore, for they no longer knew that he was the boy who defeated Cell. Through the power of the dragonballs, the Z-Senshi wished that their memories be erased, including the fact that Videl actually suffered from regression. Gohan, however, not wanting to keep a secret from his girlfriend, made an exception for her part, and said that he would tell her about it eventually --- if she would not remember it first.

Going about with the usuals, Gohan and Videl went on with their duty as the city's Champions of Justice --- and to the demi-saiyajin's surprise, she asked for a costume identical to his Saiyaman one, so that they may roam the city and fight crime _together_, as a team, costume included. Goten and Trunks went on with their pranking sprees, picking on Vegeta occasionally; while Bulma, who had seen that the Frying-Pan-of-Ultimate-Catastrophe™ could be used on humans if made by a lighter metal, began manufacturing the weapon, with Chichi as the commercial model.

Yes, life was back to normal.

In one tiny corner in a distant world, two purple-haired figures huddled close to each other inside their stone-made haven. Their sapphire eyes, identically mischievous and sly, stared at the blazing fire they had created to keep themselves warm. They were delighted that the gods had changed their despised color from purple to black, because they were blessed greatly at that development. Their comrades, from the Supreme Overlord to the Holy One, had all been killed at their spaceship's descent to an alien planet.

They stepped out of the cave they considered their home, their eyes staring up at the velvet sky, until they spotted a faint ball of blue-and-green amidst the glittering stars that were scattered all over the dark blanket. They promised themselves that when they would be strong enough, they would return to Chikyuu-sei and finish what their master, the Supreme Overlord, the Great One, had started.

Shivering due to the cold gusts of night wind that blew past them, the smaller of the two clones clutched his blanket closer to himself. Then, he lowered his eyes from the sky to look at his superior questioningly. "What are we going to do tonight, Mirai?"

The taller clone continued to stare at the distant planet intently for a few more moments, before he, too, wrapped his blanket tighter around himself to stop his body from freezing. Afterwards, he looked down at his loyal companion, and smirked. "The same thing we do every night, Chibi," he whispered, an evil glimmer seeping into his cerulean eyes, "try to take over the world."

**THE END**


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